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Democratic states that are currently contesting a government order to turn over information about recipients of food assistance have threatened to do so under the direction of United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

Rollins spoke about the ongoing lawsuit, which pits US President Donald Trump’s administration against 21 states and the District of Columbia, on Tuesday at his final cabinet meeting of the year.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has resisted that states provide details about who receives funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) under Trump.

SNAP, a term used to describe food stamps, aids low-income households in purchasing groceries. By the year 2024, nearly 41.7 million people in the US were relying on the program, or nearly 12% of the population.

According to the USDA’s order, states would be required to provide federal authorities with information such as birth dates, birth dates, and home addresses. Critics worry that transferring this kind of data could infringe on privacy.

However, Rollins stated to the cabinet that the information was necessary to “protect the American taxpayer” and to address alleged fraud.

We requested that all states provide their data to the federal government for the first time in order to ensure that those who actually need food stamps are receiving them.

She claimed that partisan politics might be at play in the opposition to her demand.

“Yes, 69 states responded. The red states, it seems, are unexpected. All of that information about fraud comes from there, Rollins continued. “But 21 states, including the blue states of California, New York, and Minnesota, continue to refuse.”

In consequence, Rollins claims that those states with Democratic ties would no longer receive federal aid for their SNAP recipients.

So, she said, “we have started and will begin stopping moving federal funds into those states until they comply” as of the following week.

A persistent legal issue

Rollins’ ability to carry out her threat is unsure.

A temporary restraining order was issued in a US district court in northern California in September to stop the government from implementing its data request. A temporary injunction was granted once more in October after a second hearing on the matter was held.

After the Supreme Court’s decision in October, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, a Democrat, stated in a statement that “the President is trying to hijack a nutrition program to fuel his mass surveillance agenda.

“We won’t allow that to occur,” he said. “Neither on our watch nor within our communities.”

Some of the most senior Democrats’ outraged after the lawsuit’s states announced on Tuesday that federal SNAP funds would be suspended.

“Genuine question: Why is the Trump administration so hostile toward people who are hungry?” Rollins’ remarks were shared by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a social media post.

The Trump administration’s plan is also being denounced by the House Agriculture Committee, which also issued a statement.

Trump and Rollins have once more allegedly threatened to withhold federal funds. Trump continues to use the term “hunger,” but SNAP has one of the lowest fraud rates of any government program.

Rollins responded on social media, claiming that the states were trying to “protect their bribery schemes,” a claim that was made without any supporting evidence.

It’s that easy, she wrote, “No DATA, NO MONEY.” A state won’t receive any money from the federal SNAP administrative budget if it doesn’t share information about criminal use of SNAP benefits.

Using SNAP as a tool?

In a report released last year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that 11.7% of SNAP benefits were “improper” in the fiscal year 2023. This included incorrect payments of about $10.5 billion.

However, according to the report, some of those “improper” disbursements were overreported and underreported to legitimate recipients.

Additionally, the Trump administration has attempted to suspend SNAP funds previously with Tuesday’s threat.

The USDA announced that it would not be paying SNAP benefits for the month of November during the government shutdown, which lasted for an unprecedented 43 days.

Numerous states sued, accusing the Trump administration of using food aid to compel Democratic lawmakers to approve the budget.

The states were given the order to resume funding by two federal courts. The Supreme Court subsequently halted the lower courts’ decisions after the Trump administration filed an appeal.

After months of high-level economic and political tensions, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his American counterpart Donald Trump have both signaled that relations are improving.

The two leaders held a 40-minute phone call on Tuesday that each side described as “productive.”

They also discussed reducing trade barriers and combating organized crime. The men both agreed that they would resume conversation soon.

In a social media post that followed the call, Lula stated that “It is urgent to increase cooperation with the US to combat international organized crime.

“President Trump emphasized that he was fully committed to working with Brazil and that he would support joint initiatives to combat these criminal organizations.”

Trump and Trump, on the other hand, made it clear that their conversation was a continuation of the one they had started in September on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “President Lula and I established a relationship at a meeting that took place at the United Nations, and I believe it set the stage for very good dialogue and agreement long into the future.”

“I’m eager to speak with and see him soon. This newly formed partnership will have a lot of positive outcomes”!

Bolsonaro has caused a stir

Brazil and the US have typically strong ties, but after Trump’s second term as president, that bond became strained earlier this year.

Trump, a Republican, had forged close ties with Jair Bolsonaro, a former right-wing leader, who resigned from office in 2023.

Bolsonaro, however, was charged in February with attempting to overturn the results of his 2022 presidential election, which he lost to Lula.

A panel of five members of Brazil’s Supreme Court heard his case.

Trump protested the trial, and in July he threatened to raise tariffs on some Brazilian goods by 50% if the case wasn’t dropped. In August, those tariffs became effective.

Alexandre de Moraes, a member of Brazil’s Supreme Court and a key figure in the Bolsonaro investigation, was also subject to sanctions and visa restrictions from the US.

Lula criticized Trump for influencing Brazilian courts, and compared the tariffs to “blackmail.”

Bolsonaro was taken into custody last month after receiving a 27-year prison sentence.

A disconnect between relationships?

A brief encounter between Lula and Trump at the UNGA and a turning point appeared to have occurred in September.

Both men were surprised by how warm their meeting was, and they exchanged hugs.

At the UN conference, Trump said, “I was walking in and the Brazilian leader was walking out.” I recognized him. He recognized me. And we “embraced”

Trump continued to say they had “excellent chemistry” and had promised to meet Lula again. Trump responded, “He seemed like a very nice man, actually.” He liked me, I said. He appealed to me. And I only deal with satisfied customers.

Following that, the two leaders reconnected in Malaysia for an ASEAN conference.

Additionally, Trump made the announcement on November 20 that he would reverse the tariff increase for certain Brazilian agricultural products, including beef, cocoa, and coffee.

Lula praised the tariff rollback on Tuesday, saying it was “very positive,” but that more needed to be done.

Lula said, “I made it clear that there are still other tariffed products that need to be discussed between the two nations.” Brazil wants to start these negotiations soon.

In his conversation with Lula, Trump again indicated that he had spoken with him about the “sanctions imposed on various Brazilian dignitaries.”

Brazil’s second-largest trading partner is the US, behind China, and in 2024, the two nations exchanged goods and services worth roughly $ 127.6 billion.

Brazil has a significant trade deficit with the US, despite Trump’s criticism of its economic policies as being defamatory.

Brazil exports nearly $91.5 billion to the US, compared to only $36.1 billion in Brazilian exports.

collaboration in preventing organized crime

The possibility of greater organized crime collaboration was another pillar of Tuesday’s high-level discussion.

Trump has made tackling criminal networks in Latin America a top priority in his foreign policy strategy. Since taking office, he has designated numerous Latin American cartels and gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

Along the southern coast of South America, he has also launched a number of airstrikes against boats and other nautical vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Human rights experts have referred to the attacks as extrajudicial killings, in violation of international law, despite Trump’s claim that the bombing campaign is a necessary bulwark against drug trafficking. The strikes have claimed at least 83 lives.

Before his re-election bid in 2026, Lula himself has been subject to pressure to address crime in Brazil.

For instance, he demanded stronger legislation to combat criminal networks from Brazilian lawmakers in November. His recommendations included greater support for Brazil’s intelligence community and the federal police.

In a social media post posted on November 19, Lula stated, “We need strong and secure laws to combat organized crime.

Despite the government’s criticism of the 122-person fatal police raid on October 28 in Rio de Janeiro, the country’s government is still under investigation.

Lula demanded an investigation into the incident, which was intended to stop a criminal organization known as the Red Command.

Here’s where things stand on Wednesday, December 3:

Fighting

• Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Kherson region, using “rocket launchers, mortars and drones”, killing a 76-year-old woman and injuring at least two other people, the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office said in a post on Telegram.
• A Russian drone attack killed one person and injured five people in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the head of the city’s military administration, Oleksandr Honcharenko, wrote on Facebook.
• Rescuers on Tuesday recovered the body of one person who was killed in a Russian attack on a nine-storey residential building in Kramatorsk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, on Monday, the State Emergency Service (SES) said.
• A woman who was injured in Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Ternopil on November 19 has died, bringing the death toll from the bombardment to 36, said Serhii Ziubanenko, the head of the Ternopil regional police.
• Four adults and one child are still missing following the attack on Ternopil, and forensic scientists and investigators are still combing the site, Ziubanenko added in a post on Facebook.
• In the front-line Zaporizhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said that a Russian drone attack left 5,000 people without electricity.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence released video footage again claiming to show that its forces have captured the key city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian army says it is still in control of the northern part of the city, and fighting is ongoing.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin challenged foreign and Ukrainian journalists to visit Pokrovsk, as well as Kupiansk, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, “to objectively inform their listeners and readers about what is happening in the world, including in Ukraine”.

Regional Security

• The Russian-flagged MIDVOLGA-2 oil tanker has arrived in northern Turkiye after it reported coming under drone attack in the Black Sea. Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attack, a charge Kyiv has denied.

US-Russia talks

• Putin met with United States special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for a five-hour meeting in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
• Putin aide Yury Ushakov doused hopes of a swift breakthrough in talks aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, saying the meeting was “constructive”, but no compromise was reached, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
• Putin earlier accused European countries of intentionally scuttling attempts to reach a peace deal by including proposals that are “absolutely unacceptable” to Russia. “They are on the side of war,” Putin said.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin was stringing along the Trump administration in the hopes that it would lose interest in resolving the conflict.
• Trump briefly referred to the talks during a cabinet meeting in Washington, DC. “Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled,” Trump said. “Not an easy situation. What a mess.”

Economy

• Zelenskyy said he looks forward to Irish companies investing in his country, following a meeting with Irish President Catherine Connolly in Dublin.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said India’s imports of Russian oil may decline for “a brief period” as Moscow plans to boost supplies using “sophisticated” technology to offset the impact of Western sanctions.