President Donald Trump doesn't have much luck in the federal court system on most issues, especially if the judges presiding have been picked by past Democratic presidents.

Another example of that bad luck came earlier this week at the hands of U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in San Francisco, who blocked the administration from punishing states that refuse to turn over SNAP data on their residents, NPR reported.  

The Trump administration had demanded that states turn over SNAP-related data on residents going back to 2020, and many Republican-led states agreed to the demand.

However, most Democrat-led states did not agree, and eventually filed suit for being "punished" for not complying with the administration's demand.

What's going on?

Notably, 27 states had already shared the SNAP data with the administration, as Trump and his top officials declared that the move to collect the data from nearly 42 million Americans on the program was part of its efforts to cut fraud and waste.

A handful of Democratic states not only refused to share the data, but decided to file suit, claiming the order was unlawful and merely another tool for the Trump administration to use for immigration enforcement.

NPR noted:

The ruling means as the case continues, the Trump administration cannot legally follow through with threats to withhold SNAP administrative funds that add up to billions of dollars annually from 21 states and the District of Columbia that are parties to the lawsuit and have not shared the data.

The judge wrote in her ruling that the states behind the suit will succeed because the "USDA, in demanding such data, acted in a manner contrary to law," and "states are likely to show the SNAP Act prohibits them from disclosing to USDA the information demanded."

The ruling and the Trump administration's efforts to collect the data come as the program's requirements have become stricter, which Republicans support due to the potential of lowering fraud rates.

SNAP, like other government assistance programs, has been widely abused for years, and until now, has likely generated mountains of waste and fraud.

Dems react

California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded to the judge's ruling this week.

"Let's be crystal clear: The President is trying to hijack a nutrition program to fuel his mass surveillance agenda," Bonta's statement read.

It added, "The Trump Administration can try all it wants to strong-arm states into illegally handing over data, but we know the rule of law is on our side."

It'll be interesting to see if the Trump administration ultimately takes the matter to the high court for a final determination.