Maryland AG Sues Trump Admin Over USDA Funding Conditions

AG: Maryland News

Filed December 31st, 2025

Detected March 23rd, 2026

Summary

Maryland's Attorney General joined 21 other states in suing the Trump administration over new, allegedly unlawful conditions imposed on USDA funding programs. The lawsuit challenges conditions related to immigration, diversity, equity, and inclusion, which the states argue are unrelated to USDA's mission and threaten critical services for vulnerable populations.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

Maryland's Attorney General, Anthony G. Brown, along with a coalition of 21 other state attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging new funding conditions imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These conditions, effective December 31, 2025, require states to comply with policies on gender identity, diversity, immigration, and athletic opportunities, which the plaintiffs argue are unrelated to the purpose of USDA programs and lack clear specification, leaving states vulnerable to arbitrary enforcement. The lawsuit seeks to block the USDA from imposing these conditions, which could affect vital programs such as SNAP, WIC, and the school lunch program, impacting millions of vulnerable individuals nationwide.

The lawsuit alleges that the USDA's actions violate the Spending Clause by imposing coercive conditions without clear notice and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by being arbitrary, capricious, contrary to law, and exceeding statutory authority. The plaintiffs are asking the court to prohibit the USDA from implementing or enforcing these allegedly unlawful conditions. This action directly impacts states' ability to administer federal aid programs and could lead to significant disruptions in essential services for low-income families, children, and seniors if the conditions are enforced.

What to do next

Review USDA funding agreements for new conditions related to immigration, diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity.
Assess potential impact of these conditions on program eligibility and service delivery.
Consult legal counsel regarding state-specific obligations and potential challenges to USDA's authority.

Penalties

Threatened harsh penalties, including potential cutoff of access to critical USDA programs.

Source document (simplified)

Attorney General Brown Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Threats to Billions in Critical USDA Funding

Published: 3/23/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts [email protected]
410-576-7009

BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over its attempt to impose unlawful conditions on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, grants, cooperative agreements, and mutual interest agreements.

In their lawsuit, Attorney General Brown 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 unlawful funding conditions on USDA programs. The critical programs administered by USDA include 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. If USDA uses the new conditions to cut off access to any of these programs, it could threaten basic, essential services for millions of Maryland’s most vulnerable children, working families, senior citizens, and rural communities.

“The USDA is threatening to deny critical food assistance to Maryland’s most vulnerable — our children, seniors, and working families — to force compliance with its unlawful demands,” said Attorney General Brown. “Our Office will not allow the Trump Administration to use this vital support as leverage for its political agenda.”

Effective Dec. 31, 2025, USDA adopted new funding conditions. The conditions require states to promise to comply with the Trump administration’s policies related to gender identity, diversity, immigration and fair athletic opportunities for girls and women. However, Attorney General Brown and the other attorneys general explain in their lawsuit that USDA does not clearly specify what the new conditions require from states, leaving states at the risk of arbitrary enforcement by USDA.

In their lawsuit, Attorney General Brown 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 conditions are the arbitrary and capricious, not constitutional, 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.

Maryland and its residents receive more than $2 billion of funding and benefits annually across all these USDA programs.

Attorney General Brown and the other attorneys general have asked the court to prohibit USDA from implementing or enforcing the unlawful conditions.

Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.