AG Nessel Sues Trump Administration Over USDA Funding Conditions

AG: Michigan News

Filed March 23rd, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, joined by 20 other attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over new USDA funding conditions. The lawsuit challenges the imposition of unrelated conditions concerning immigration, diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity on critical USDA programs, threatening billions in federal funding.

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What changed

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging new conditions imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on federal funding. The lawsuit, filed on March 23, 2026, asserts that these conditions, which relate to immigration, diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity, are unconstitutional, unlawful, and unrelated to the purpose of USDA programs. The coalition seeks to block the USDA from enforcing these conditions, which could impact vital programs such as SNAP, WIC, and the school lunch program, potentially affecting millions of vulnerable individuals nationwide.

The lawsuit alleges that the USDA violated the Spending Clause by imposing coercive conditions without clear notice and the Administrative Procedure Act by enacting arbitrary and capricious rules beyond its statutory authority. The new conditions, effective December 31, 2025, require states to comply with policies related to gender identity, diversity, and immigration, including excluding transgender girls from sports. The attorneys general are asking the court to prohibit the USDA from implementing or enforcing these illegal conditions, which they argue are being used to pressure states into complying with unrelated policies.

What to do next

Review USDA funding agreements for new conditions related to immigration, diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity.
Assess the impact of these conditions on program eligibility and operations.
Consult legal counsel regarding potential challenges or compliance strategies.

Penalties

Threatened harsh penalties for non-compliance with new USDA funding conditions.

Source document (simplified)

AG Nessel Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration for Holding Hostage Billions in Critical USDA Funding

March 23, 2026

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration (PDF) over its unconstitutional and unlawful attempt to impose conditions on funding received through U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, grants, cooperative agreements and mutual interest agreements.

In their lawsuit, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition assert 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. The lawsuit asks the court to block USDA from imposing these illegal funding conditions, including on critical USDA 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, among others. These programs provide basic, essential services for millions of Michigan’s most vulnerable children, working families, senior citizens and rural communities.

“The Trump administration is once again trying to pressure states into complying with vague and unlawful conditions by threatening to withhold essential federal funding,” said Attorney General Nessel. “We’ve challenged and defeated these tactics before and are fully prepared to do it again to ensure Michiganders receive the assistance they need to feed their families.”

Effective December 31, 2025, USDA adopted new funding conditions. The conditions require states to promise to comply with the Trump administration’s policies purporting to relate to gender identity, diversity, immigration, and excluding transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. However, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition explain in their lawsuit that USDA does not fully identify or limit the policies with which the states must comply, leaving states at the mercy of the administration for enforcement of the new conditions.

In their lawsuit, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition allege the Trump administration has violated the Spending Clause by imposing coercive conditions without clear notice of its funding conditions. The lawsuit also alleges the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because the conditions are arbitrary and capricious, unconstitutional, contrary to law, and beyond USDA’s statutory authority.

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. Attorney General Nessel and the attorneys general have asked the Court to prohibit USDA from implementing or enforcing the illegal conditions.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing the lawsuit 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.

MI Newswire Attorney General Press Release Federal Actions Media Contact:

Danny Wimmer

Press Secretary

agpress@michigan.gov

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