WASHINGTON Republicans couldnt get tough new work requirements for food stamp recipients through Congress , but the Trump administration has apparently decided that it can get what it wants without using the legislative process.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a new regulation Thursday that would make it harder for states to waive the work requirements that are already part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Republicans have long complained that states have too much leeway to exempt childless, able-bodied SNAP recipients from the work requirements, which limit benefits to three months unless they get a job.

The regulation is similar to changes that Republicans pushed through the House of Representatives earlier this year. But the changes were omitted from a final version of the legislation that passed both the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis last week, because Senate Democrats hated them.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign that legislation, known as the farm bill because it includes agriculture subsidies, on Thursday afternoon.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the proposed regulation blatantly ignores the farm bill that Congress passed.

I expect the rule will face significant opposition and legal challenges, Stabenow said.