Washington Sues USDA Over Unconstitutional Funding Conditions

WA Attorney General News Releases

Filed March 23rd, 2026

Detected March 23rd, 2026

Summary

Washington State, joined by 20 other attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The suit challenges new, allegedly unconstitutional funding conditions imposed by the USDA on billions of dollars in critical program funding, including SNAP and WIC. The states argue these conditions related to immigration, DEI, and gender identity are vague, coercive, and exceed the agency's statutory authority.

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What changed

Washington State, along with 20 other state attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) challenging new funding conditions implemented by the agency effective December 31, 2025. The lawsuit alleges that the USDA is unlawfully imposing vague and expansive conditions related to immigration, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and gender identity on billions of dollars in federal funding. The states contend that these conditions violate the Spending Clause by imposing coercive terms without clear notice and the Administrative Procedure Act by being arbitrary, capricious, unconstitutional, and beyond the USDA's statutory authority. The suit specifically seeks to block the imposition of these conditions on vital programs such as SNAP, WIC, and the school lunch program.

This action requires immediate attention from compliance officers overseeing federal grant compliance and state-level program administration. While the lawsuit seeks to block the conditions, entities that receive or administer USDA funding should review their current agreements and any communications from the USDA regarding these new conditions. The primary implication is the potential disruption or loss of critical funding if the lawsuit is unsuccessful or if the USDA proceeds with enforcement. Compliance teams should prepare for potential audits or inquiries related to these specific policy areas and be ready to articulate their compliance posture.

What to do next

Review current federal grant agreements for any mention of the challenged USDA funding conditions.
Assess internal policies and practices related to immigration, DEI, and gender identity for alignment with federal requirements and potential legal challenges.
Monitor legal developments in the lawsuit filed by Washington State and other AGs against the USDA.

Penalties

The lawsuit asks the court to block USDA from imposing these illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding.

Source document (simplified)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Mar 23 2026

In a move to protect Washingtonians who depend on federal U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, Attorney General Nick Brown has joined 20 other attorneys general in suing the agency for attempting to impose unconstitutional and unlawful conditions on the agency’s programs, grants, and agreements.

“In an affordability crisis, threatening to withhold food assistance from kids and vulnerable families is heartless—and against the law,” Brown said. “That’s why it’s important that we fight back so Washingtonians get the support they need.”

In its lawsuit, the coalition argues 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. The lawsuit asks the court to block USDA from imposing these illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding, including on critical 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. The programs provide basic, essential services for Washington’s most vulnerable children, working families, senior citizens and rural communities.

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. USDA programs have wide-ranging benefits for people across Washington. For example, SNAP serves about 900,000 people per month, and WIC serves more than 212,000 participants in the state per year, most of them infants and children.

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, Brown and the attorneys general explain in their lawsuit that USDA does not fully identify or limit which policies the states must comply with, leaving states at the mercy of the administration for enforcement of the new conditions.

The states argue USDA has violated the Spending Clause by imposing coercive conditions without clear notice of its funding conditions. The lawsuit also alleges USDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the conditions are arbitrary and capricious, unconstitutional, contrary to law, and beyond USDA’s statutory authority.

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

A copy of the complaint is available here.

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