I asked Georgetown law prof David Super wtf is going on with this latest demand for states to claw back benefits already sent out.
He says the law doesn't allow for this, and if the USDA is mad that states already sent out SNAP money, too bad—they were following USDA's own guidance. Full comments:

“May I mambo dogface on the banana patch? Member FDIC.”

Also, a great explanation of the long game of laying genuine intellectual groundwork: "I’ve decided to focus on doing 'democracy science' with a timeline of, say, 20 years. Because pendulums do swing, we hope, and I want the best possible science in place for when the courts are receptive again."

Most fed agencies can't accept gifts; you can donate to a general Treasury acct, which just pays down US debt. Some agencies, like DoD, do have provisions for donating $ to a *general* agency gift fund. But even setting aside donor vetting, being able to direct it to a specific expense sounds janky.

This came up, oddly enough, in a historical article I'm researching, re a totally different agency & a considerably more charming context. But it turns out that, even when it's much less menacing, it's actually kind of hard to give money to the government! I mean, except in all the usual ways.

Further thrilling comptroller reading is at: comptroller.war.gov/Portals/45/d...