WA sues USDA for illegally holding hostage billions in critical funding

In a move to protect Washingtonians who depend on federal U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, Attorney General Nick Brown has joined 20 other attorneys general in suing the agency for attempting to impose unconstitutional and unlawful conditions on the agency's programs, grants, and agreements.

"In an affordability crisis, threatening to withhold food assistance from kids and vulnerable families is heartless-and against the law," Brown said. "That's why it's important that we fight back so Washingtonians get the support they need."

In its lawsuit, the coalition argues that USDA has threatened harsh penalties if states do not comply with the agency's vague and expansive funding conditions relating to immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion, and gender identity. The lawsuit asks the court to block USDA from imposing these illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding, including on critical programs such as the school lunch program; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP); and the Volunteer Fire Capacity Program. The programs provide basic, essential services for Washington's most vulnerable children, working families, senior citizens and rural communities.

USDA programs feed about 30 million children across the nation through the school lunch program, strengthen the American food ecosystem from farm to table, support national security through a robust and safe domestic agriculture community, fund university research to advance domestic food production, and save lives and infrastructure by funding firefighting programs. USDA programs have wide-ranging benefits for people across Washington. For example, SNAP serves about 900,000 people per month, and WIC serves more than 212,000 participants in the state per year, most of them infants and children.

Effective Dec. 31, 2025, USDA adopted new funding conditions. The conditions require states to promise to comply with the Trump administration's policies related to gender identity, diversity, immigration, and fair athletic opportunities for girls and women. However, Brown and the attorneys general explain in their lawsuit that USDA does not fully identify or limit which policies the states must comply with, leaving states at the mercy of the administration for enforcement of the new conditions.

The states argue USDA has violated the Spending Clause by imposing coercive conditions without clear notice of its funding conditions. The lawsuit also alleges USDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the conditions are arbitrary and capricious, unconstitutional, contrary to law, and beyond USDA's statutory authority.

Joining Brown in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

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