President Trump’s welfare reform megabill is finally ending decades of government dependency by implementing common-sense work requirements and ending food stamp handouts to non-citizens, despite leftist outcry about “harm and suffering.”
Story Highlights
- Trump’s July 2025 megabill introduces work requirements for able-bodied adults aged 18 to 64, affecting over 3 million Americans.
- Non-citizens, including refugees and asylum seekers, lose SNAP eligibility, ending decades of taxpayer-funded benefits for foreign nationals.
- States must now share SNAP costs starting in 2028, creating accountability for program administration and reducing federal burden.
- Liberal activists claim reforms will create “harm and suffering” while ignoring the need for fiscal responsibility and self-reliance.
Trump Administration Restores Work Requirements to Food Stamp Program
President Trump’s comprehensive welfare reform legislation, signed in July 2025, introduces sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that prioritize work over dependency.
The reforms expand work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents from age 54 to 64, while tightening eligibility for parents with older children.
Congressional Budget Office estimates indicate 1.1 million people will transition off SNAP benefits between 2025 and 2034, including 800,000 able-bodied adults and 300,000 parents with children aged 14 and older.
These changes represent a fundamental shift toward encouraging self-sufficiency rather than perpetual government assistance.
SNAP is back, but millions of Americans could lose benefits due to new restrictions https://t.co/3jSQxhZ3yR
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 18, 2025
Non-Citizens Finally Lose Taxpayer-Funded Food Benefits
The Trump administration’s reforms end the absurd practice of providing American taxpayer-funded food benefits to non-citizens, including refugees, asylum seekers, and those granted humanitarian protection.
This policy reversal affects approximately 90,000 people who previously received benefits despite not being American citizens. The changes eliminate SNAP eligibility for trafficking victims, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant visa holders, and other foreign nationals who have been draining resources from programs intended for Americans.
Only lawful permanent residents who have waited five years after receiving green cards retain limited eligibility, along with Cuban and Haitian entrants under specific humanitarian programs.
States Face New Accountability for Program Administration
Starting in 2028, states with SNAP payment error rates above 6% must contribute between 5% and 15% of program costs, ending the federal government’s blank check approach to welfare administration. This accountability measure addresses decades of wasteful spending and administrative negligence that has plagued the program.
The Commonwealth Fund analysis projects $128 billion in federal costs will shift to states, forcing local governments to make hard choices about program sustainability. States that cannot meet federal matching requirements may opt out entirely, affecting an estimated 300,000 recipients between 2028 and 2034.
Liberal Opposition Ignores Fiscal Reality and Work Incentives
Predictably, left-wing activists are crying foul over reforms that encourage work and reduce dependency. Joel Berg from Hunger Free America claims the changes will “create more harm and suffering,” while completely ignoring the benefits of self-reliance and reduced government spending.
Critics argue that work requirements don’t increase employment, yet conveniently overlook that the majority of SNAP families already have working members, according to 2023 American Community Survey data.
These reforms simply ensure that able-bodied Americans contribute to society rather than relying indefinitely on taxpayer-funded assistance, a principle that built America’s prosperity.
