A ruling this week in a multistate lawsuit that Vermont declined to join is fueling renewed criticism of Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s decision to hand over the sensitive personal information of low-income Vermonters to the Trump administration.

A federal judge in California has at least temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from accessing the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and addresses of anyone who received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the last five years.

While that decision will protect, for now, the personal data of residents in the more than 20 states that filed suit, Scott has already handed over the data of about 140,000 SNAP recipients in Vermont.

“This indiscriminate demand for the data of SNAP recipients

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