USDA freezes $129M in awards to Minnesota

Ag secretary cites ongoing and past fraud as reason for freeze; demands state and Minneapolis justify use of every fed dollar

The United States Department of Agriculture has suspended all federal awards to Minnesota and Minneapolis as of Jan. 9, according to a letter posted on X by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

Those awards, totaling more than $129.18 million, were suspended because “widespread and systemic fraud associated with federal benefit programs in the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis demonstrate an inability to handle federal resources without additional oversight and accountability measures in place.”

Rollins argues in the letter that the state has resisted efforts to get a handle on fraud, including recertifying 100,000 SNAP recipients within a 30-day period. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed for emergency relief against the order in late December, calling the demand “impossible and unlawful.”

In Rollins’ Jan. 9 letter, the USDA is demanding that Minnesota and Minneapolis provide justifications for all federal dollar expenditures from Jan. 20, 2025, to the present. Going forward, the letter states, all federal dollar expenditures will require such justifications.

USDA funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Some 440,000 Minnesotans utilize SNAP every month. Rollins also accused the state of incorrectly reporting SNAP data to the feds, citing that as another reason for suspending funds.

Ellison responded to Rollins’ letter on X, stating: “I will not allow you to take from Minnesotans in need. I’ll see you in court.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families website, the department is “working with our local partners to analyze the impacts of this latest federal action, including potential impacts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”