Americans must provide junk food with Food Stamps, now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). This is allegedly a nutritional program that will now allow recipients to buy Cheetos, soda, candy, and other non-nutritional foods.
Secretary Kennedy’s MAHA program attempts to steer Americans toward healthy eating. Judge Berman said it is unlawful because “food” means any food, but she contradicted herself by defining it.
The Short Story
Obama-appointed Judge Amy Berman Jackson blocked USDA-approved state pilots in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia that restricted SNAP use for soda and candy, ruling the agency can’t override Congress’s broad statutory definition of eligible “food.” She also said Congress has to define food, not states or the administration.
However, she did define food. The judge said in her ruling that food means any food except cigarettes, hot meals, alcohol, and tobacco, not junk food. She accused the administration of breaking the law.
The case stems from the Trump administration and MAHA efforts to limit non-nutritious items in the $120+ billion SNAP program via waivers, amid ongoing debates over taxpayer-funded purchases contributing to higher obesity and health costs among recipients.
Snap should not be used for junk food just like you can’t buy cigarettes https://t.co/2e2rtAOUdX
— Adam Carolla (@adamcarolla) June 23, 2026
This SNAP case, Nieves Aragon et al. v. Brooke Rollins et al. (D.D.C. No. 1:26-cv-00861, was decided June 22, 2026. The case was funded by two left-wing organizations: the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and the Shriver Center on Poverty Law
The plaintiffs (SNAP recipients, including some, IRONICALLY, with conditions like Type 1 diabetes argued the restrictions harmed health management and created confusion.
Berman never agrees to anything the Trump administration does. Last year, she halted firings at the rogue CFPB agency. She also ordered the administration to fund it. It operates with an endless treasury budget and no oversight by Congress. It’s Elizabeth Warren’s cudgel against Capitalists.
Berman Jackson presided over several high-profile criminal cases arising from the special counsel’s investigation into the Russian interference hoax in the 2016 election. She is a lawfare judge.
