An Obama-appointed federal judge has blocked the implementation of Tennessee’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reform prohibiting recipients from using benefits to purchase certain processed food and carbonated sweetened beverages.
The ruling, issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District of Columbia (pictured above), found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) lacked the legal authority to approve Tennessee’s SNAP waiver and similar programs in several other states.
Tennessee was among the first states to receive federal approval under the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative.
The state’s waiver, approved in December 2025, sought to ban SNAP recipients from purchasing processed foods and carbonated sweetened beverages while expanding eligibility to include certain hot prepared foods such as rotisserie chicken and grilled chicken products.
The lawsuit was brought by SNAP recipients from five states, including Tennessee, who argued the restrictions would make it more difficult for low-income families to access food and would create confusion for consumers and retailers.
In her 68-page opinion, Jackson ruled that Congress – not federal agencies – has the authority to determine which foods are eligible under SNAP.
“Congress defined what ‘food’ is supposed to be, and it did not authorize the agency to amend or waive the definition it enacted,” the judge wrote.
While the judge added that state and federal officials “may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store,” she concluded that “what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”
Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for products that make people sick and then pay again for the medical care that follows. SNAP was created to fight hunger and improve nutrition, not to subsidize the chronic disease epidemic. Today’s ruling does not change the facts about the… https://t.co/gcmAwtck0E
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 23, 2026
Jackson’s decision effectively halts implementation of SNAP food restrictions in Tennessee, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, and West Virginia while the legal challenge proceeds. Her ruling comes as 23 states have submitted and had their SNAP Food Restriction Waivers approved by the USDA.
The state had planned to begin restricting purchases of products that listed sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or similar sweeteners as primary ingredients, as well as certain sweetened carbonated beverages, on July 31.
Reacting to Jackson’s ruling, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said, “An activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk.
“SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families. Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize junk food and drinks at the expense of American health. This administration will keep fighting to Make America Healthy Again,” Rollins added.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also reacted to Monday’s ruling.
“Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for products that make people sick and then pay again for the medical care that follows. SNAP was created to fight hunger and improve nutrition, not to subsidize the chronic disease epidemic. Today’s ruling does not change the facts about the health harms associated with excessive sugar consumption. We will continue pursuing every available path to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
