Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on November 13, 2025, said the Trump administration is planning to have all Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries reapply for the program due to alleged fraud.
The secretary said after receiving data on SNAP recipients from 29 red states that “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.”
“It’s going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply for their benefit, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can’t survive without it,” she added.
Rollins further stated that “Every state has a periodic recertification process that requires SNAP or food stamp recipients to update their whereabouts and earnings, according to the the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Most municipalities require updated data every six to 12 months.
Over the past month, food stamps were threatened amid the government shutdown as the Trump administration argued against using contingency funds to fuel the welfare program.
More than 41 million Americans rely on the benefits to buy groceries, according to the Center for Budget and Policy. Priorities, however 120 American have been arrested for committing SNAP fraud according to Rollins.
Approximately 175,000 West Virginia residents receive SNAP benefits. 2018 data shows that about 13% of households in Calhoun County received food stamps, a figure that is likely outdated.
