USDA on Wednesday released the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) review.

February 13, 2025 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) review of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack’s choice to modify the longstanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) obligation practice.

“Make no mistake, Secretary Vilsack and Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean put politics over commonsense, ignoring scores of USDA financial analysts and policy experts. Using a memorandum from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as their guide, Vilsack and Dean compromised the integrity of SNAP, the financial standing of USDA, and further eroded public trust,” said Kailee Buller, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The Trump Administration will immediately correct this egregious action, making certain material weaknesses like this do not happen again.”
Source: USDA