Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed that 14,000 recipients of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program included owners of luxury vehicles such as Ferraris, Bentleys and Teslas, and that 4.3 million Americans have been removed from the program following a 2025 statute that expanded work requirements and shifted administrative costs to states. Rollins also said many of those removed had been committing fraud.

Rollins did not cite the state or source for the data underlying her claim. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the $57 billion program, would not comment on the record regarding her claims.

A USDA spokesperson cited a report by the Foundation for Government Accountability, whose conclusions are based on 2023 data obtained by an unnamed contractor from an anonymous state. The report does not provide information on the alleged SNAP recipients or on how their identities were matched to car registrations, and the foundation did not provide its data or methodology. The foundation did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The USDA spokesperson did not respond to questions on the veracity of the foundation's research, data, methodology or conclusions, and did not comment on data showing a lack of SNAP coverage for eligible Americans living under the poverty line. The spokesperson cited a proposed Trump administration rule to limit categorical eligibility for SNAP from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. The proposed rule claimed that broad-based categorical eligibility, intended to lower administrative costs and burdens, has bloated SNAP rolls.

"I just don't buy the Secretary saying that they have all this information as a gotcha moment, while not also simultaneously saying we plan to hold these people accountable for defrauding the system and taking food away from the people who really need it," said Representative Jahana Hayes, ranking member of the nutrition, foreign agriculture and horticulture subcommittee. "I never thought it was about abuse. I never thought it was about fraud."

Eric Pachman, founder of the data analysis non-profit Data 4 the People, said in a podcast interview that gaps in coverage undercut Rollins's framing. "She [Rollins] can't hide behind the statement that she's trying to protect vulnerable people because the analysis out there shows that we have no interest, and we are failing more often than we are succeeding on a county level, in actually even covering all the vulnerable people," he said.

In 2024, 67% of U.S. counties were not providing SNAP to all residents living under the federal poverty level. According to the USDA, an individual or family must in most cases have income below 130% of the federal poverty level to be eligible, which equals $32,150 a year for a family of four in 2025. The USDA reported that 13.7% of U.S. households were food insecure in 2024, the highest level in a decade. The Trump administration ended the household food security report.

The Foundation for Government Accountability has faced accusations of using questionable research while lobbying for cuts to SNAP.