Judge Deals Big Setback to MAHA Movement

The federal government can't block benefits from the nation's largest food aid program from being used to buy candy, soda, and other sugary drinks, a judge has ruled. The ruling scuttles restrictions now in place or planned for the federally funded and state-run Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 23 states, the AP reports. President Trump's administration has not said whether it will appeal to a higher court. The decision is a big setback for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again"—MAHA —movement, reports CNN.

US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, a Barack Obama nominee, said in her opinion that the ruling was because the federal government did not follow its own definition of "food." Under the law, SNAP benefits—formerly known as food stamps—can be used for "any food or food product for home consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods, or hot food products ready for immediate consumption." She said it wasn't a comment on whether the restrictions are a good idea.

• Jackson said the ruling wasn't a comment on whether the restrictions are a good idea. "The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals," she wrote. "But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way."

• Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins have encouraged states to limit what the food aid can be used to buy as part of the MAHA campaign. They reason that soda and candy fuel obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease epidemics—and taking them off the menu would encourage healthier food choices.
• The Agriculture Department has given 23 states so far permission to implement restrictions. Some have been implemented already, while others are queued to take effect in the coming months and years. While the goals are similar, the exact rules vary by state. Some wanted to ban both sugary drinks and candy, while others only sought to ban sugary beverages.
• A legal challenge to the candy and soda ban—which includes items such as sports drinks in some states—was filed by SNAP beneficiaries in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. They argued that they needed to buy some of the restricted items to address health problems including kidney issues, CNN reports.
• Rollins slammed the ruling on X. "An activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk," she wrote. "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."