**Kansas SNAP Funding Controversy: Attorney General Kris Kobach’s Claims Debunked by Gov. Laura Kelly’s Administration**
Kansas SNAP funding was reportedly at risk of losing $10.4 million, according to claims made by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach in a lawsuit filed against Governor Laura Kelly’s administration on September 8. However, these assertions were officially refuted by the Kelly administration on September 30 through a series of press releases, which addressed the most significant claim regarding the potential loss of funding for families depending on the SNAP program.
The Kelly administration stated, “After the USDA rejected the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Corrective Action Proposal, DCF filed an appeal with the USDA. The filing of that appeal immediately prevented the USDA from withholding the $10.4 million. The State of Kansas has not lost any SNAP administrative funding, and the program continues to operate as usual.”
Moreover, the administration revealed that Kobach made these allegations without conducting prior research or consulting with the Governor’s office. These unsubstantiated claims caused unwarranted panic among Kansas SNAP recipients and raised questions about the continued availability of their benefits. Gov. Kelly was quickly and repeatedly blamed despite no substantial evidence supporting Kobach’s accusations.
In response, Governor Kelly remarked, “Had the Attorney General met with my office prior to filing his lawsuit, as my office had requested, we could have explained the issue without having to go through the time and expense of the court.”
The Kelly administration also clarified that its decision to withhold certain SNAP recipients’ information went beyond Kobach’s claim that Gov. Kelly was “making a show of resistance to the Trump administration,” a statement never issued by anyone in Kelly’s office. Both DCF Secretary Laura Howard and Governor Kelly have expressed distrust of President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring states to share more detailed information about SNAP recipients to prevent fraud.
Secretary Howard explained in an interview with the *Kansas Reflector*, “The release of information isn’t about detecting fraud because those procedures are already in place.” Since effective fraud detection measures were established, Governor Kelly concluded that complying with the federal request to provide additional personal information could potentially violate recipients’ privacy.
Despite this, Kobach characterized the refusal as a “political demonstration,” without providing impartial evidence to support his claim.
Concerns about the Trump administration’s intentions were echoed by multiple parties. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney of California ruled against the federal agency’s effort to enforce this new policy after states raised worries that revealing such data could compromise sensitive applicant information—including income, family details, and immigration status—potentially facilitating mass deportations.
Although the Kelly administration did not participate in this lawsuit, its reasoning aligned with that of 21 states involved in the legal challenge.
Governor Kelly addressed the situation on social media, criticizing the “attacks” against her as “childish” and “idiotic.” She stated on X:
> “As public officials, we should be bigger than that and better than that. Kansans face serious challenges; many are just trying to make ends meet, and they expect us to be focused on their problems, not wasting time on idiotic memes. I’d like to invite the Republican officials who I know also disdain these types of silly attacks to join me in trying to restore a basic sense of civility to our politics.”
At the time of publication, Governor Laura Kelly could not be reached for further comment.
https://kstatecollegian.com/2025/10/16/kansas-snap-funding-accusations-examined/