Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced plans Friday to request federal waivers to reform the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The waivers would cut sugary processed foods and soda from the program and allow SNAP recipients to buy healthier options, such as grilled or rotisserie chicken, according to a press release from the governor.

“Tennessee’s proposed waivers will ensure SNAP fulfills its intended purpose of promoting healthier eating habits, supporting improved health outcomes and reducing chronic conditions for low-income families,” the press release continued.

Specifically, the proposal would exclude food “items listing sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or a similar caloric alternative as the primary (first) ingredient” and “beverages where carbonated water and sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or a similar caloric alternative are the first two ingredients,” the press release added.

“Tennessee is leading the nation in creating innovative solutions to enhance quality of life, and I’m proud to continue our legacy of responsible fiscal stewardship while also delivering nutritious food choices for hard-working families,” Lee said in the press release.“I’m grateful to the Trump Administration for its leadership to Make America Healthy Again, and thank our grocery retailers, convenience stores, food producers, and beverage manufacturers for working to ensure that healthier choices reach every community across our state.”

Tennessee is leading the nation in innovative solutions to enhance quality of life, and that’s why we’re working to ensure SNAP fulfills its intended purpose of promoting nutritious food options and reducing chronic health conditions for low-income families.

— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) August 8, 2025

So far, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has authorized waivers from 12 states banning soda and sugary foods. The states approved to reform SNAP are Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been adamant that U.S. taxpayers should not be forced to pay for unhealthy foods.

“We are spending $405 million a day on SNAP and about 10% is going to sugary drinks, and if you add candies to that, it’s about 13-17%,” Kennedy said Tuesday.

“We all believe in free choice,” Kennedy said. “We live in a democracy — people can make their own choice about what they are going to buy and what they are not going to buy. If you want to buy a sugary soda, you should be able to do that, but the U.S. taxpayer should not pay for it.”

“U.S. taxpayers should not be paying to feed the poorest kids in the country food that will give them diabetes,” Kennedy added.

A federal appeals court overturned a left-wing judge’s threat to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for deporting Venezuelan illegal aliens to El Salvador.

The appeals court ruling is a win for the Trump administration, which has been locked in a legal battle with Judge James Boasberg, whom the White House has blasted as a “Democrat activist” working to “usurp the president’s authority.”

The 2-1 decision from a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down Boasberg’s earlier finding that there was probable cause that some officials acted in contempt of court.

Boasberg, an Obama appointee who The Daily Wire revealed is married to the founder of a Washington, D.C.-area abortion clinic who has given money to the Democrats, blocked the Trump administration from deporting illegal aliens to El Salvador’s terrorist confinement center in March. The federal judge later said that the Trump administration defied a court order by refusing to turn around a deportation flight already on its way to El Salvador.

“The court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their responses has been satisfactory,” Boasberg wrote.

Friday’s ruling puts to rest the threat from Boasberg, with a concurring opinion charging that the liberal judge’s claims raise “troubling questions about judicial control over core executive functions like the conduct of foreign policy and the prosecution of criminal offenses.”

The ruling comes on the heels of a Supreme Court victory upholding the Trump administration’s authority to deport illegal aliens to “third countries” — nations willing to take in migrants from elsewhere.

The Trump administration has used third-country agreements to deport illegal aliens whose home countries are unwilling to accept them, as well as to deport others who have protection orders that prevent them from being sent back to their nation of origin.