Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced on Mar. 23 that he is leading a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over new conditions placed on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding. The coalition argues that these conditions are unconstitutional and unrelated to the core purpose of USDA programs, grants, and agreements.
The issue centers on recent requirements by the USDA that states must comply with policies regarding immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion, and gender identity to receive federal funding for essential programs. These include school lunch initiatives, nutrition support for women and children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and firefighting capacity grants. According to Raoul’s office, these programs provide vital services to millions of vulnerable residents across Illinois.
Raoul said, “The Trump administration is again demonstrating shocking contempt for the well-being of Americans, including millions of Illinoisians. The USDA’s grant conditions threaten critical nutrition support, rural firefighting capacity and the safety of the national food chain in some of the most vulnerable Illinois communities.” He added that Illinois has little choice but to accept this funding due to its importance: “The USDA is trying to force states like Illinois…to comply with illegal conditions. I am proud to join my coalition partners in fighting back against this coercion and refusing to adopt this administration’s unlawful policies that attack our residents.”
The lawsuit claims that as of Dec. 31, 2025, these new requirements were adopted without clearly identifying which specific policies states must follow—leaving enforcement at the discretion of federal authorities—and thus violate both constitutional protections under the Spending Clause as well as administrative law standards.
Programs affected by these changes feed approximately 30 million children nationwide through school lunches while also supporting agricultural research and rural emergency services. In Illinois specifically, one in twenty residents receives TEFAP food assistance; many live in farming areas where access to nutritious food remains limited despite local agricultural production.
This legal action reflects broader advocacy efforts by Raoul’s office for vulnerable groups such as workers, immigrants and seniors according to the official website. The Attorney General also handles thousands of consumer complaints each year according to their website, aims to protect consumers while promoting safer communities according to their website, extends protection efforts statewide according to their website, partners with law enforcement agencies according to their website, and offers complaint filing services related both consumer frauds or civil rights issues according to their website.
Attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and seventeen other jurisdictions joined Raoul in seeking an injunction preventing enforcement or implementation of what they call illegal federal conditions.