A new Trump administration rule announced Wednesday threatens the food stamp benefits of nearly 700,000 Americans.

The regulation makes it harder for states to waive a requirement that beneficiaries work or participate in a job training program. It aims to restore the system "to what Congress intended: assistance through difficult times, not a way of life," according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told CNBC the rule will work to "move more able-bodied recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program towards self-sufficiency and into employment."

Currently, 36 million Americans are receiving SNAP benefits. States up to now have been able to receive work requirement waivers if their unemployment rates are at least 20% above the national rate, which was 3.6% in October.

"We're going back to the original congressional intent. That's what the administration is supposed to do," Perdue added . "Look at the original congressional intent and go back there."

The work requirement applies to "able-bodied" recipients of SNAP benefits between the ages of 18 to 49 years old without dependents. It does not apply to children and their parents, people over 50 years old, people with a disability or pregnant women.

Perdue cited a strong economy and low unemployment as reasons behind the new rule.

"Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch," Perdue said. "We need to encourage people by giving them a helping hand but not allowing it to become an indefinitely giving hand. Now, in the midst of the strongest economy in a generation, we need everyone who can work to work. This rule lays the groundwork for the expectation that able-bodied Americans re-enter the workforce where there are currently more job openings than people to fill them."