New York is among 20 states suing the Trump administration over the request, which advocates say will have a “chilling effect” on SNAP participation among eligible people in need. The mayor’s office said it’s reviewing its options, and said the mandate “will only worsen food insecurity in our city.”  

Baby formula on display inside a Key Food Supermarket on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

New York officials and anti-hunger advocates condemned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) request for states to share the personal information of food stamp recipients, and City Hall said it’s reviewing its options around the mandate, the deadline for which passed earlier this week.

In May, the USDA asked states to hand over data—such as names, dates of birth, personal addresses, and Social Security numbers—for all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients over the last five years by 30 July, or else risk losing federal funding.

Citing President Donald Trump’s March Executive Order, the USDA said the data will help it combat waste, fraud, and abuse.

SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps, can be used to buy food and groceries at authorized retail stores. About 2.9 million low-income New Yorkers are currently enrolled in the program, or about 14 percent of the state’s population. Nearly a third are children. 

On July 23, USDA broadened the scope of requested information to include immigration status and information about household members. Although immigrants without legal status are ineligible for the program, mixed-status families may include children who are U.S. citizens and therefore qualify for the benefits.

Earlier this week, 20 state attorneys general—including New York’s—joined together to challenge the Trump administration’s demand in a lawsuit.

But according to the New York Attorney General’s Office, Wednesday’s deadline remained in place despite the legal action, so states and social service districts may still respond.

While SNAP is funded by the federal government, in New York, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) is in charge of managing and distributing the benefits at the state level. In New York City, the Human Resource Administration (HRA), which is part of the New York City Department of Social Services, oversees the program locally.

City Hall did not respond to questions about whether it would comply with the rule, but condemned it. “We’re reviewing our options,” a City Hall spokesman said. 

“Requiring states to provide private and sensitive information on SNAP applications to the federal government is unlawful and will discourage New Yorkers from applying for these essential services, and withdrawing federal funding for not complying with this mandate will only worsen food insecurity in our city,” the spokesperson added. “We urge the federal government to reverse this decision.”

At the state level, OTDA also did not provide details on how it would respond, stating that “OTDA does not comment on pending litigation,” an agency spokesperson said via email. A USDA spokesperson also declined to comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit. 

On July 23, OTDA’s Commissioner Barbara Guinn submitted a comment formally requesting that the USDA withdraw the proposed notice, alleging legal, operational, and ethical concerns with the creation and use of the USDA’s proposed National SNAP Information Database.

“Disclosure to such persons in violation of the privacy safeguards is inappropriate and unauthorized and does not serve any purpose related to the effective administration of the SNAP program,” Guinn wrote.

Food insecurity in New York grew to 4.7 percent of households from 2021 to 2023, while SNAP reliance has steadily increased after the pandemic, reaching 1.75 million households across the state in March 2025. 

Children account for 30 percent of New York’s SNAP enrollees; elderly individuals make up 21 percent and non-elderly disabled residents comprise 10 percent.

“We are deeply concerned about the data request, including its potential chilling effect on SNAP participation,” said Krista Hesdorfer, director of public affairs at Hunger Solutions New York, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating hunger, which also assists eligible New Yorkers in accessing SNAP.

Advocates told City Limits that this request adds to the fear and chaos already being felt among immigrant communities as the Trump administration ramps up deportation efforts, including arrests of people showing up for mandated immigration court hearings, many of whom have no criminal history.

The policy will only lead to more reluctance to enroll in the SNAP program, even if people are eligible, advocates said.

“If you can find me one undocumented immigrant who somehow faked the paperwork to get SNAP, I can find you 10,000 out of thousands of documented, legal immigrants who are not applying for SNAP,” said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America.

USDA argues the information-sharing request is meant to get rid of “data silos” to stop waste, fraud, and abuse of federal funds.

The Trump administration has been working on several paths to gather as much immigration-related information on people as possible, including creating a data-sharing system between ICE and the IRS, using Medicaid databases, and signing agreements between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Homeland Security.

“People are more afraid than ever to apply for the benefits to which they’re legally eligible,” Berg said. “People are even afraid to go to charitable soup kitchens and food pantries. There’s some people who are afraid to shop. They’re getting friends to shop for them. They’re literally putting themselves under essentially self-house arrest.”

While the USDA data request doesn’t mention immigration enforcement, hunger relief and immigrant advocates said the main goal is to help authorities find people who could be deported.

“As one of six children raised by a single mother who worked three jobs to put food on the table, Mayor Adams understands the importance of ensuring that families never have to go hungry,” a City Hall spokesman said.

“SNAP helps thousands of New Yorkers put food on their tables, and we are dedicated to ensuring everyone who needs these benefits can feel comfortable accessing them, regardless of their immigration status.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Trump’s Demand for Food Stamp Participants’ Data Will Scare People From Needed Benefits, Officials & Advocates Say appeared first on City Limits.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Thursday announced that construction on a new $200 million ballroom will begin in September and be ready before President Donald Trump ‘s term ends in early 2029.

It will be the latest change introduced to what’s known as “The People’s House” since the Republican president returned to office in January. It also will be the first structural change to the Executive Mansion since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948.

Trump has substantially redecorated the Oval Office through the addition of golden flourishes and cherubs, presidential portraits and other items and installed massive flagpoles to fly the American flag on the north and south lawns. Workers are currently finishing a project to replace the lawn in the Rose Garden with stone.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up photos of the planned new White House ballroom during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump for months has been promising to build a ballroom, saying the White House doesn’t have space big enough to hold large events and scoffing at the notion of hosting heads of state and other guests in tents on the lawn as past administrations have done for state dinners attended by hundreds of guests.

The East Room, the largest room in the the White House, can accommodate about 200 people.

As he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held talks in the ballroom of the hotel on his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on Sunday, Trump praised the space and said it was what he envisioned adding to the White House.

“The White House has wanted a ballroom for 150 years, but they never had a real estate person. You know, nobody, no president knew how to build a ballroom,” he said, harkening back to his early career in real estate and construction.

He said the Turnberry ballroom had been “quite the success” since it opened a short time ago. That ballroom “boasts a generous capacity of up to 500 guests,” according to the hotel’s website.

“I was just saying I could take this one, drop it right down there and it would be beautiful,” Trump said. “This is exactly what they’ve wanted.”

The White House is pictured before President Donald Trump departs, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The 90,000-square-foot ballroom, announced on Thursday, will be built where the East Wing currently sits and will have a seated capacity of 650 people. The East Wing is home to several offices, including the first lady’s. Those offices will be temporarily relocated during construction while that wing of the building is modernized and renovated, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“Nothing will be torn down,” she said.

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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said the president and his White House are “fully committed” to working with the appropriate organizations to preserve the mansion’s “special history.”

“President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail,” Wiles said in a statement.

Leavitt said at her briefing Thursday that Trump and other donors have committed to raising the approximately $200 million in construction costs. She did not name any of the other donors.

Renderings of what the future ballroom will look like were posted on the White House website.

Trump has chosen McCrery Architects, based in Washington, as lead architect on the project. The construction team will be led by Clark Construction. Engineering will be provided by AECOM.

Regan Smith continues to add medals to her collection.

The Lakeville product pulled in two more silvers at the World Championships on Thursday in Singapore.

Smith finished behind only Canada’s Summer McIntosh, who won the 200-meter butterfly by three full seconds with a time of 2 minutes, 1.99 seconds, just 14 hundredths off the world record pace.

“Going into tonight, my coach and I, our big goal was to break that world record. It’s what I’ve been training for,” McIntosh told reporters. “To see that I missed it by that little, and I know that I messed up the last 15 meters of my race… Overall, happy with the time and a (personal best), but I didn’t reach my goal tonight. Happy with the gold, happy with the win, just going to keep pushing forward.”

Australian Kaylee McKeown, who won the 100-meter backstroke earlier in the week, scratched the 50 meter – in which she’s the world record holder – from her program pre-meet, cracking the door open further for another winner in that event.

Katharine Berkoff seized the opportunity, setting a new American record with a 27.08 seconds to win the gold. That was just 18 hundredths clear of Smith

“I’m super excited,” Berkoff told reporters. “It’s been a goal of mine for a long time, and it’s great to finally achieve that.

Smith now has three silvers at the championships after also taking second in the 100-meter backstroke and completing a difficult double in Thursday’s session.

“Doubles are never easy, but I’m grateful that it was just a 50m backstroke, not 100m or 200m,” Smith told reporters. “And the ready room for the 50m is really fun. There are a lot of great girls in there and I love swimming with Katharine, so they gave me the energy to do what I needed to do. And I’m just excited to hear the anthem tonight.”

Individually, Smith will also compete in the 200-meter backstroke this week.

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who aided President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, should be stripped of his law license, a Washington disciplinary panel ruled on Thursday.

Clark, who is now overseeing a federal regulatory office, played a key role in Trump’s efforts to challenge his election loss to Joe Biden and clashed with Justice Department superiors who refused to back his false claims of fraud.

The D.C. Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation will now go to the D.C. Court of Appeals for a final decision.

Under the second Trump administration, Clark has been serving as acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a part of the Office of Management and Budget that is responsible for reviewing executive branch regulations.

OMB spokesperson Rachel Cauley said in a post on X that “this latest injustice is just another chapter in the Deep State’s ongoing assault on President Trump and those who stood beside him in defense of the truth.”

“JEFF CLARK has been harassed, raided, doxed, and blacklisted simply for questioning a RIGGED election and serving President Trump,” she wrote.

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At issue in the D.C. bar proceedings was a letter that Clark, as an assistant attorney general in the first Trump administration, drafted that said the Justice Department was investigating “various irregularities” and had identified “significant concerns” that may have impacted the election in Georgia and other states. Clark wanted the letter sent to Georgia lawmakers, but Justice Department superiors refused.

The board said disciplinary counsel proved that Clark made “intentionally false statements” when he continued to push for the Justice Department to issue the letter after being told by superiors that it contained falsehoods.

“Lawyers cannot advocate for any outcome based on false statements and they certainly cannot urge others to do so,” the board’s report said. “Respondent persistently and energetically sought to do just that on an important national issue. He should be disbarred as a consequence and to send a message to the rest of the Bar and to the public that this behavior will not be tolerated.”

Clark’s attorney, Harry MacDougald, argued during disciplinary hearings last year that the letter was part of the debate that normally occurs between lawyers and that punishing Clark in those circumstances would have a “chilling effect.”

Clark’s conflict with Justice Department superiors culminated in a contentious, hourslong meeting at the White House on Jan. 3, 2021, in which Trump openly considered installing Clark as acting attorney general, according to a Senate Judiciary report. Several officials in the Jan. 3 meeting told Trump they would resign if he put Clark in charge at the Justice Department.

Another close Trump ally, Rudy Giuliani, was disbarred in Washington last year, months after he lost his law license in New York for pursuing false claims Trump made about his 2020 election loss.