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Fox joined the Trump administration in celebrating as millions of Americans are kicked off food stamps

Fox also pushed a right-wing goal of ending Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility for SNAP, misleadingly framing the cost-saving measure as fraud

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published

Fox News hosted Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, in the last week to celebrate that millions of Americans lost their food stamp benefits as a result of drastic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts in the Fox-celebrated Republican legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Multiple Fox programs also dutifully aired her attacks on a decades-old policy called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility that saves states billions in administrative costs and expands access to eligible Americans, misleadingly presenting it as a “loophole” that enables fraud. In fact, ending the policy, which is a stated goal of multiple right-wing organizations, is estimated to kick off a further 6 million deserving Americans from the SNAP program, also known as food stamps.

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  • Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act kicked millions of Americans off SNAP, threatening lives as grocery prices continue to rise. More are expected to lose benefits going forward.

    • Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fell by more than 3 million people (8 percent) nationwide between July 2025 and January 2026. The drop followed the enactment of H.R.1, the Republican megabill that made unprecedented cuts to the program.” The CBPP explained that this drop in enrollment was the result of “unprecedented cuts to the program” and not a result of improving economic conditions: “SNAP typically expands to meet need and then shrinks when economic conditions improve. It took over three years for the caseload to drop by over 3 million people (or 7 percent) between its peak in December 2012 and February 2016, during the recovery following the Great Recession. But economic conditions haven’t been improving as the number of people receiving SNAP has plummeted in recent months, representing the sharpest decline in decades. The last time there was such a steep decrease in participation in such a short period of time (other than temporary spikes following natural disasters) was nearly three decades ago, after Congress enacted very deep cuts to SNAP (then the Food Stamp Program) in 1996.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/29/26]
    • The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s work requirements will further “reduce participation in SNAP by roughly 2.4 million people in an average month over the 2025-2034 period.” The CBO continued: “Of those people, about 800,000 will be able-bodied adults through age 64 who do not live with dependent children. Another 300,000 will be able-bodied adults ages 18 to 64 who live with children who are age 14 or older. And roughly 1 million will be able‑bodied adults ages 18 to 54 (or 18 to 49, starting in 2031) who do not live with dependents but who, in CBO’s January 2025 baseline projections (which preceded the law’s enactment), would have received a waiver from the work requirements. CBO estimates that the reductions in participation for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and people ages 18 to 24 who were in foster care when they turned 18 will be partially offset by increases in participation among American Indians, resulting in a net reduction in SNAP participation of 300,000 people in those groups.” [Congressional Budget Office, 8/11/25]
    • Center for American Progress: CBO’s projection could “translate into nearly 70,000 avoidable deaths nationally by 2040.” CAP explained: “Prior research on SNAP participation and mortality rates found that mortality was lower among a sample of SNAP participants than it would have been had none of them received benefits for the period of 1997–2011. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and New York University used this research to estimate that 93,000 premature deaths among recipients younger than 65 could result from losing SNAP through the added barriers to access in the House-passed reconciliation bill. After accounting for changes in the final version of the law, CAP estimates that 69,600 deaths could result from the work requirement expansions by 2040 as more people become subject to the changes when they recertify their eligibility.” [Center for American Progress, 3/19/26]
    • Urban Institute: “The One Big Beautiful Bill provision prohibits the USDA from making substantive changes” to increase SNAP benefit amounts “even if data suggest there’s a need.” The Urban Institute explained: “The biggest threat to SNAP benefit adequacy in the One Big Beautiful Bill is the requirement for all updates to the Thrifty Food Plan to be cost neutral. The USDA uses the Thrifty Food Plan to determine SNAP benefit amounts, and requiring plan updates to be cost neutral means the USDA cannot adjust the calculation for SNAP benefits outside of adjustments made for inflation. This provision is dangerously misguided, as it ignores the reality that our food environment, food preparation and consumption patterns, and dietary guidelines are constantly evolving.” [Urban Institute, 7/16/25]
    • Grocery prices are up approximately 2.5% during Trump’s second term. [Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 4/10/26]

  • Fox celebrated the Trump administration’s removal of millions of people from SNAP and pushed its effort to undo Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility

    • Fox host Laura Ingraham after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins bragged about removing 4.5 million people from SNAP: “That’s good news.” Ingraham also said: “We ramp up those deportations, do mass deportations, you’ll really start seeing a drop in food stamps, because obviously, you know, children have to get fed, and they’re fed through the program as well.” (Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP benefits). During the segment, Rollins also attacked “this crazy thing called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility” and claimed “there’s no identification verification required and anybody can sign up for it.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 4/30/26; National Immigration Law Center, 11/12/25]
    • Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone invited Rollins to brag about removing millions of Americans from SNAP: “Secretary, you’ve got some new news to break with us this morning. You know, federal data revealing 4 million fewer Americans are receiving SNAP benefits in the first year of this president's second term. These numbers are coming in your department.” Casone added: “This is after the passage, of course, the Big Beautiful Bill last July.” During the interview, Rollins falsely claimed: “Under Joe Biden, the SNAP program, the food stamp program, grew by more than 40%. Of course, I believe they were buying votes for the election, putting as many people on as they could.” But as Snopes pointed out, using the USDA’s own data and news releases, enrollment grew by only a fraction of a percent during the Biden administration. A temporary 40% increase in monthly benefits was instituted by the Trump administration in April 2020, as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic; those extra benefits expired in 2023. [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria, 4/28/26; Snopes, 11/7/25]
    • Fox anchor John Roberts: “Apparently there's a loophole in a program called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility. It extends SNAP eligibility to anyone regardless of income or assets if they use either a brochure or hotline to sign up for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.” [Fox News, America Reports, 4/30/26]
    • Fox anchor Sandra Smith called BBCE “a loophole that watchdogs call fraud by design.” [Fox News, America Reports, 4/30/26]
    • Fox Business host Taylor Riggs on BBCE: “Fraudsters have found a loophole.” Fox Business correspondent Jackie DeAngelis lamented “how convenient SNAP benefits have become.” [Fox Business, The Big Money Show, 4/30/26]
    • Fox anchor Dana Perino claimed BBCE is “this loophole in the SNAP benefits program that allows people to sign up for aid despite having the financial means to own luxury cars.” During the segment, Fox Business correspondent Connor Hansen said that the Department of Agriculture “has moved” millions of people “off SNAP so far” and “is pushing for more.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 4/30/26]
    • Fox Business host Stuart Varney described BBCE as “a loophole that allows people who own luxury cars … to also qualify for food stamps.” A graphic displayed during the segment characterized the policy as “state fraud policy.” [Fox Business, Varney & Co., 4/30/26]
    • Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo described BBCE as “a state-wide loophole which allows people to obtain SNAP benefits, even if they can afford luxury cars.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria, 4/30/26]
    • Fox contributor Kaylee McGhee White cited a Foundation for Government Accountability report to claim, “Rollins also says that there’s massive fraud involving SNAP benefits.” [Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, 5/3/26]

  • The Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility policy includes safeguards and saves states money, and ending it would remove a further 6 million Americans from food benefits

    • USDA: “Broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) is a policy in which households may become categorically eligible for SNAP because they qualify for a non-cash Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or state maintenance of effort (MOE) funded benefit.” The Agriculture Department further explained: “Households that are not eligible for the program that confers categorical eligibility may apply for and receive SNAP under regular program rules.” [U.S. Department of Agriculture, 12/29/25]
    • Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Household income is reviewed under BBCE, and it’s “been available to states for almost 30 years.” The CBPP explained: “For categorically eligible households, states still must review fully each household’s income and other circumstances to determine its SNAP benefit. (BBCE does not give the state any flexibility on the benefit amounts for which a household is eligible.) And, like all SNAP households, categorically eligible households must complete a SNAP application, have an interview with a state official, document their financial and other circumstances, report changes in their circumstances, and regularly reapply for SNAP.” Additionally, “other SNAP eligibility and benefit rules continue to apply.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/17/26]
    • CBPP: “BBCE does not cause substantial SNAP benefits to go to non-needy families.” The CBPP continued: “Households can only qualify for a sizable SNAP benefit if they have high expenses that leave them with little income available for food. Only about 1 percent of SNAP benefits went to households with monthly disposable incomes (net income after deducting certain expenses) above the federal poverty line in 2023.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/17/26]
    • Urban Institute senior fellow Elaine Waxman: “Data about who would be income‐ineligible if BBCE were eliminated indicate that in fact, states are reaching households that are a high priority for SNAP and that the vast majority of those with categorical eligibility would still be income‐eligible if BBCE were eliminated.” Waxman’s June 2019 testimony to Congress on the importance of Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility continued: “Moreover, households that would have been income ineligible received less than 1 percent of SNAP benefits, reflecting that households not meeting income tests are generally those with higher income, and therefore receiving lower benefits.” [Urban Institute, 6/20/19]
    • Food Research and Action Center: A 2019 U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis estimated that eliminating BBCE would increase state spending on administrative costs “by $1.157 billion over five years.” [Food Research and Action Center, 3/3/25]
    • CBPP: Rescinding Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility “would likely end … food assistance for approximately 6 million people, including more than 1.8 million children, based on available estimates, and reduce access to school meals and WIC for many children as a result.” CBPP explained: “BBCE has been available to states for almost 30 years. It enables them to raise their SNAP income eligibility limits somewhat so that many low-income working families who have difficulty making ends meet, such as those facing housing or child care expenses that consume a sizeable share of their income, can receive help affording adequate food. It also provides modest SNAP food assistance to many older adults and people with a disability whose net income after SNAP’s deductions are taken into account is slightly above the poverty line, who otherwise would not qualify for SNAP. And it allows states to adopt less restrictive asset tests so that families, older adults, and people with a disability can have modest savings without losing SNAP.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/17/26]
    • CBPP senior policy analyst Katie Bergh: Up to “46 states use this option because it encourages work, eliminates benefit cliffs, allows families to build savings so they can weather emergencies & avoid debt, reduces payment errors & streamlines program administration — all while not contributing substantially to program costs.” [Bluesky, 3/4/26]
    • CBPP senior research analyst Victoria Hunter Gibney: “Three recent studies link state adoption of SNAP flexibilities (like BBCE) with decreased child welfare involvement - fewer CPS reports, lower numbers of children with a substantiated maltreatment report, and fewer foster care entries - via increased food assistance caseloads.” [Bluesky, 4/29/26]

  • Ending BBCE is a right-wing policy goal

    • Project 2025 sought to remove BBCE. The authors of Mandate for Leadership encouraged ending automatic eligibility for SNAP for those who receive other benefits because, they claimed, “‘benefit’ is defined so broadly that it includes simply receiving distributed pamphlets and 1–800 numbers. This definition, with its low threshold to trigger a ‘benefit,’ allows individuals to bypass eligibility limits—particularly the asset requirement.” [Media Matters, 10/29/24]
    • NOTUS: “Eliminating broad-based categorical eligibility has long been championed by some conservative groups, which have argued that non-cash TANF benefits are too easy to qualify for.” The article continued: “The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 called for broad-based categorical eligibility to be reformed. The American Enterprise Institute published a report in late September on how the Trump administration could navigate getting rid of it.” [NOTUS, 11/19/25]
    • America First Policy Institute: “Time To End The Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility Loophole In SNAP.” [America First Policy Institute, 12/16/25]
    • The Foundation for Government Accountability, which compiled the report Fox cited in its attacks, wrote multiple papers calling for an end to BBCE. The stats cited by multiple Fox reports attacking Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility came from an April 2 Foundation for Government Accountability paper titled “From Luxury Vehicles to Fake Emails: Why Food Stamp Program Integrity Is More Important Now Than Ever.” The organization also wrote a March paper titled “Eliminating BBCE Will Lower Food Stamp Payment Errors and Save Billions,” and a December paper whose title was echoed by a Fox anchor, “Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility in Food Stamps is Fraud by Design and States Should Ban It.” [Foundation for Government Accountability, 4/2/26, 3/17/26, 12/12/25]
    • The first Trump administration also tried to limit BBCE. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/17/26]