New work requirements for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program by President Donald Trump’s administration were blasted on Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as “cold” and “heartless.”

The rule change for food stamp recipients could lead to as many as 688,000 people losing the benefit.

About three-quarters of the 4 million people receiving food stamps under the SNAP program did not work in 2016.

“Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “Government can be a powerful force for good, but government dependency has never been the American dream.”

The rule is aimed at making it more difficult for states to waive the requirement that childless adults who are able to work must work 20 hours a week to qualify for SNAP benefits.

“With this rule change, President Trump is using a federal agency he controls to continue his egregious assault on those Americans most in need,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This action circumvents both the will of Congress and the flexibility that was historically afforded to states to administer nutrition assistance, and it will cause added hardship for tens of thousands of New Yorkers who are already struggling to make ends meet.”

Cuomo added, “Let’s be clear: This rule change is cold, heartless and despicable – and sadly unsurprising from a federal administration that gives tax cuts and other giveaways to millionaires, billionaires and corporations while continuing to chip away at the social safety net for the most vulnerable among us.”