Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

The Trump administration has proposed a new rule that would cut about 6.3 million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the country’s largest food aid program.

Getting into it: The Agriculture Department’s proposal, published Tuesday, targets “broad-based categorical eligibility,” a policy more than 40 states use to automatically enroll families in SNAP when they already get help from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. That policy has allowed states to drop SNAP’s asset limits and raise its income cutoff from 130% of the poverty line, about $43,000 a year for a family of four, to as high as 200%, about $66,000.

Under the rule, people receiving only noncash TANF help, like child care vouchers or job training, would no longer automatically qualify. The USDA estimates about 17.6% of SNAP recipients would lose benefits once the rule takes full effect in 2029, cutting federal spending by about $45 billion over five years. SNAP enrollment is also what qualifies kids for free school meals, so about 1.8 million children would lose those too.

The rule comes after SNAP already shed more than 5.5 million people under Trump’s 2025 tax and spending law, leaving about 36 million enrolled. A similar rule proposed during Trump’s first term was dropped by the Biden administration, and the change was also outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Comments on the rule are open for 30 days.

In a statement, a USDA spokesman said, “Broad-based categorical eligibility has bloated the welfare rolls for decades. Correcting this loophole is long overdue.”

Another view: Democrats slammed the proposal, with Rep. Angie Craig, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, calling it “heartless and cruel.” Anti-hunger groups warned it would mostly hurt working families who hold multiple jobs but still don’t earn enough, and that the USDA’s numbers likely understate the impact.

This all comes as Democrats, who won control of Congress partly by campaigning on affordability, signal they’ll try to delay or reverse cuts to food aid when they take power in January.