Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and a coalition of 21 attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction last Friday temporarily blocking the Trump administration from enforcing certain conditions on funding received through U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, grants, cooperative agreements and mutual interest agreements. This funding helps provide basic, essential services for millions of Michigan’s most vulnerable children, working families, senior citizens, and rural communities. Attorney General Nessel and the coalition filed lawsuit in March asserting 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, which are unrelated to the purpose of USDA funding.
“While the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to slap vague and unlawful conditions on essential federal funding, I am relieved that courts across the country have, time and again, sided with the rule of law and residents who rely on these resources to get by,” said Nessel. “My office remains committed to fighting on behalf of Michigan families to ensure they never have their basic needs weaponized to advance a political agenda.”
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.
The State of Michigan receives billions of dollars from USDA to support various programs, including more than:
• $761 million in federal funding for Child Nutrition Programs in fiscal year 2025.
• $210 million in federal funding for WIC in fiscal year 2023.
• $3 billion in SNAP funding in fiscal year 2024.
• $16 million for TEFAP in fiscal year 2026.
Joining Nessel in securing this preliminary injunction are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
“While the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to slap vague and unlawful conditions on essential federal funding, I am relieved that courts across the country have, time and again, sided with the rule of law and residents who rely on these resources to get by,” said Nessel. “My office remains committed to fighting on behalf of Michigan families to ensure they never have their basic needs weaponized to advance a political agenda.”
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.
The State of Michigan receives billions of dollars from USDA to support various programs, including more than:
• $761 million in federal funding for Child Nutrition Programs in fiscal year 2025.
• $210 million in federal funding for WIC in fiscal year 2023.
• $3 billion in SNAP funding in fiscal year 2024.
• $16 million for TEFAP in fiscal year 2026.
Joining Nessel in securing this preliminary injunction are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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