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Project 2025 proposed moving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to a different government department and changing the program's eligibility requirements. The sprawling 900-page document includes 14 mentions of SNAP amid broader proposals about how welfare and food assistance in the U.S. should be overseen. Newsweek has contacted the Heritage Foundation for comment by email outside normal business hours. Why It Matters Project 2025 is a collection of policy proposals spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation think tank. It advocates limited government, border security and tough immigration laws, among other conservative measures. The document was a source of debate before the 2024 election, with Democrats accusing then-candidate Donald Trump of planning to implement its proposed policies if returned to the White House. Before the election, Trump called parts of Project 2025 "ridiculous and abysmal." After his electoral victory, he told Time that he disagreed with parts of the document, but not all of it. He also enlisted several of the project's contributors to serve in his second administration. In October, Trump met with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, one of the document's authors, to decide where to make government cuts. As Trump continues setting an agenda in his administration, commentators continue to question the extent to which he is influenced by Project 2025. What To Know The federal government shutdown is affecting federal programs—including SNAP, which provides about 42 million low- and no-income Americans with funds to buy groceries. The White House initially planned to provide 65 percent of November's SNAP benefits, prompting lawsuits from several states and nonprofit groups. A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to fully restore payments using emergency funding, but after the Justice Department appealed the ruling, the Supreme Court issued an emergency order temporarily blocking full SNAP payments while the case is reviewed. The Project 2025 document said the government should move food and nutrition programs away from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to the Department of Health and Human Services instead. "Because means-tested federal programs are siloed and administered in separate agencies, the effectiveness and size of the welfare state remains largely hidden," the authors wrote, arguing that one department should oversee the programs. The document also said the government should reimplement work requirements for those who receive SNAP benefits to curb the rising numbers of people dependent on the program and to reduce costs. "The statutory language covering food stamps allows states to waive work requirements that otherwise apply to work-capable individuals—that is, adult beneficiaries between the ages 18 and 50 who are not disabled and do not have any children or other dependents in the home," the document said. It said the first Trump administration had tried to create reforms to make it harder to waive work requirements, but a court blocked those efforts. The document also proposed eligibility reforms to make it harder to enroll in food assistance programs. It said current eligibility was too broad and allowed "millionaires to enroll in the food stamp program." What People Are Saying Faith Williams, the director of the effective and accountable government program at the nonpartisan independent watchdog the Project on Government Oversight, previously told Newsweek: "The president has come a long way from saying he has 'nothing to do with Project 2025' last year, to referring today to his budget chief, Russ Vought, as 'of PROJECT 2025 FAME.' Regardless of how closely past, current, and future policies hew to Project 2025, it's clear that this administration shows no signs of slowing down in its efforts to shift how the federal government serves the public, including weaponizing the Department of Justice, deploying troops in our cities, and denigrating whistleblowers." President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday: "SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly 'handed' to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before! Thank you for your attention to this matter." The Supreme Court said in its order: "Given the First Circuit's representations, an administrative stay is required to facilitate the First Circuit's expeditious resolution of the pending stay motion." District Judge John J. McConnell said in a federal court order: "People have gone without for too long, not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable." What Happens Next The Supreme Court's administrative stay pauses McConnell's previous mandate for full SNAP payments while the First Circuit Court of Appeals reviews the case.
