JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s Republican governor wants to sidestep reluctant lawmakers and join at least a dozen other states in banning food stamp recipients from using their federal benefits to buy candy, soda and other so-called junk foods.

Gov. Mike Kehoe issued an executive order Monday instructing the Missouri Department of Social Services to formally request permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to limit what recipients of the state’s $1.5 billion Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program can buy.

"This waiver will allow Missouri to refocus our SNAP program to maximize nutritional health for low-income families while also supporting the abundant agricultural output of our state," the governor’s request said.

The waiver request comes as President Donald Trump’s admi

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