Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the states "have misused this flexibility," Bloomberg reports.

"We are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it," Perdue added.

In a potential complication, the Department of Agriculture has proposed this rule change just as the Trump Administration is touting a deal with Congressional Democrats to lift spending caps as part of a compromise to raise the Debt Ceiling.

House Republicans  tried cutting food stamps last year when Congress renewed the program, but the Senate rejected the cuts.

The new rule would limit states' ability to enroll benefits recipients earning more than 130% of the federal poverty line. It would also introduce new means testing; in most cases, this means a family of four would need to be earning less than $32,640 to qualify.