Trump work rules could limit benefits

Stricter job conditions are making it harder for some low-income Americans to get aid.

- BY SALLY HO AND CHARLOTTE KRAMON

JOE RAEDLE Getty Images

PEOPLE attend a job fair in Florida. President Trump's spending bill changed the criteria for getting food assistance as well as Medicaid.

The Trump administration made work requirements for low-income people receiving government assistance a priority in 2025.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development have worked to usher in stricter employment conditions to receive healthcare, food aid and rental assistance benefits funded by the federal government.

The idea is that public assistance discourages optimal participation in the labor market and that imposing work requirements not only leads to self-sufficiency, but also benefits the broader economy.

"It strengthens families and communities as it gives new life to startups and growing businesses," the Cabinet secretaries wrote in a New York Times essay in May about work requirements.

Yet many economists say there is no clear evidence such mandates have that effect. There's concern these new policies that make benefits contingent on work could ultimately come at a cost in other ways, from hindering existing employment to heavy administrative burdens or simply proving unpopular politically.

Here is a look at how work requirements could affect the millions of people who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and HUD-subsidized housing:

SNAP

What President Trump refers to as his "Big Beautiful Bill" in July expanded the USDA's work requirements policy for SNAP recipients who are able-bodied adults without dependents.