USDA threatened states over ‘unauthorized’ SNAP payments. Is Kansas at risk?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has dropped its threat to financially punish Kansas and other states that released federal food assistance benefits to needy households last week.
The reversal comes after a dizzying week of legal battles that saw the U.S. Supreme Court side with USDA in its bid to block benefits payouts in the waning days of a record-breaking government shutdown.
After Congress reached an agreement to reopen the government, the USDA published guidelines on Thursday instructing states to make full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits available in November to more than 42 million Americans who rely on them.
The new guidelines, signed by deputy undersecretary of Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Patrick Penn, say that “due to extraordinary circumstances,” the agency “shall not pursue any additional penalties against state agencies.”
Penn, a former Kansas state representative from Wichita, suggested in a previous memo that USDA would financially punish states for releasing full benefits it considered premature. States were only authorized to distribute 65% of regular aid, he said.
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized. Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” Penn wrote on Saturday.
“Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of State administrative costs and holding States liable for any over issuances that result from the noncompliance,” Penn wrote.
His threat came a day after he wrote in a different memo to states that the agency was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” in compliance with a Rhode Island federal judge’s ruling last Thursday that partial benefits were inadequate.
The Trump administration ultimately appealed that order to the Supreme Court. But before a stay was granted, the Kansas Department for Children and Families last Friday made full benefits available to the nearly 188,000 Kansans who rely on food aid.
Kansas SNAP benefits
In a statement that evening, Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said she and her deputies believed they were following USDA’s guidance by authorizing funds to be loaded onto benefits cards.
“Today, in accordance with a court’s order and after receiving guidance from the USDA, Kansas sent full November SNAP benefits to all eligible Kansans,” Kelly said.
“These Kansans, most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, were struggling to put food on their plates. Why the President would petition the highest court to deny food to hungry children is beyond me,” she added.
On Monday, in response to questions about whether Kansas planned to “undo” benefits payouts as Penn had directed, DCF spokesperson Erin La Row said no steps were being taken to do so.
She pointed to a ruling in a second multi-state SNAP lawsuit where a federal judge in Massachusetts halted enforcement of Penn’s directive requiring states to retroactively void benefits.
“Kansas is currently under no legal obligation to take any actions pertaining to the November SNAP benefits the state disbursed on Friday,” La Row said in an email.
Kelly told reporters on Monday that “we don’t have the money in Kansas to give back” if USDA demanded to be made whole.
She said the third-party vendor Kansas contracts with to issue payments through benefits cards “could be left holding the bag, which would be a really bad thing.”
Speaker House Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, characterized Kelly’s decision to quickly authorize full benefits payments as reckless and potentially costly to the state.
“Governor Kelly’s DCF was given guidance. They didn’t follow that guidance. So why would anyone be surprised when there are consequences for not following directions?” said Hawkins, who is running for insurance commissioner.
Hawkins has also been critical of Kelly’s refusal to hand over SNAP recipients’ personal information to USDA, including the names, dates of birth, home addresses and Social Security numbers of everyone who has received or applied to receive food assistance since 2020.
“She doesn’t listen, does what she wants, and then whines when there’s accountability,” Hawkins said of Kelly.
In September, after several written warnings, Penn moved to withhold more than $10 million in SNAP funding from Kansas. He said he would deny the state another $10 million every three months officials refuse to meet the personal data demand.
Kansas has appealed the $10 million penalty, delaying any immediate financial hardship for the food assistance program. Kelly and DCF officials have maintained that USDA’s directive constitutes federal government overreach and an invasion of privacy.
