{"id":173050,"date":"2026-03-24T07:41:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/173050\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T07:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:41:23","slug":"attorney-general-james-sues-trump-administration-over-unlawful-usda-funding-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/173050\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration Over Unlawful USDA Funding Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 New York Attorney General Letitia James and 20 other attorneys general today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block sweeping new funding conditions imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)<\/a> that jeopardize billions of dollars in\u00a0funding for\u00a0critical\u00a0state\u00a0programs. The lawsuit challenges USDA\u2019s new \u201c2026 Conditions,\u201d which force states to\u00a0comply with\u00a0vague and unlawful policy requirements or risk losing essential funding for programs that feed families, support farmers, and protect communities. Attorney General James and the coalition are asking the court to block these conditions and protect states\u2019 access to funding already approved by Congress. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government cannot hold critical funding hostage to force states to comply with vague, ideological directives,\u201d said Attorney General James. \u201cThese new conditions put essential programs at risk and\u00a0cause\u00a0chaos for states that rely on this funding to feed families, support farmers, and keep communities safe. I will keep fighting to protect New Yorkers and ensure they receive the resources they depend on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The USDA provides tens of billions of dollars each year to states to support a wide range of programs that sustain the nation\u2019s food system and rural economies, including agricultural research, farm support programs, forestry and wildfire prevention, and infrastructure that connects farms to markets. In New York, this funding supports farmers across the state, from dairy producers in the North Country to specialty crop growers in the Hudson Valley and Long Island, while also helping universities and research institutions develop new innovations that keep American agriculture competitive. In addition, USDA\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0some of the nation\u2019s most essential nutrition programs,\u00a0including\u00a0the school lunch program; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,\u00a0and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);\u00a0and\u00a0The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, USDA introduced new requirements for funding recipients,\u00a0stating\u00a0that\u00a0in order to\u00a0receive funding\u00a0allocated\u00a0by Congress, states must certify compliance with broad, undefined federal \u201cpolicies.\u201d These conditions\u00a0apply to\u00a0nearly all\u00a0USDA programs, and\u00a0include restrictions related to \u201cgender ideology,\u201d immigration,\u00a0\u201cfair athletic opportunities,\u201d\u00a0and other political priorities. However, Attorney General James and the coalition contend\u00a0that these conditions\u00a0fail to\u00a0clearly define which conduct is prohibited, leaving states to guess how to comply while facing the threat of severe financial penalties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If allowed to take effect, these conditions could have devastating consequences in New York.\u00a0Millions of New Yorkers who depend on\u00a0government\u00a0assistance\u00a0to put food on the table could see benefits threatened or delayed. WIC funding that supports pregnant people, infants, and young children could be put at risk, jeopardizing\u00a0lifesaving\u00a0health\u00a0and nutrition services. Emergency food providers across the state could lose support,\u00a0even though\u00a0demand\u00a0for food\u00a0assistance\u00a0remains\u00a0high.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The conditions would also profoundly harm New York\u2019s agricultural sector. Farmers could lose access to critical grant programs that support crop production, pest and disease management, and sustainable farming practices. State agencies and universities could lose funding for agricultural research that drives innovation in food production, provides essential support to New York farmers,\u00a0and\u00a0strengthens\u00a0supply chains. Programs that connect local farms to schools and communities could be disrupted, weakening local food systems and regional economies.\u00a0In addition, forestry and wildfire prevention programs supported by USDA funding could be\u00a0impacted,\u00a0reducing the state\u2019s ability to manage forests, prevent wildfires, and protect natural resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attorney General James and the coalition argue that these requirements are unconstitutionally vague and are clearly meant to coerce states into adopting federal policy preferences. They also argue that the conditions exceed USDA\u2019s legal authority and were imposed without following required legal procedures.\u00a0The\u00a0attorneys general have asked the court to prohibit USDA from implementing or enforcing the illegal conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joining Attorney General James in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California,\u00a0Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,\u00a0Illinois,\u00a0Maine, Maryland,\u00a0Massachusetts, Michigan,\u00a0Minnesota, New Jersey,\u00a0New Mexico, Oregon,\u00a0Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington,\u00a0Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2013 New York Attorney General Letitia James and 20 other attorneys general today filed a lawsuit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9810,9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-173050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-federal-initiatives","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}