Trump admin delays TANF data sharing plan opposed by blue states
Construction workers install rebar and other materials at the new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House after President Donald Trump ordered changes to the project on August 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. Kevin Carter/Getty Images
Democrat-led states are concerned the administration will share cash assistance recipients’ sensitive information with immigration enforcement and other federal agencies.
The Trump administration pushed the effective date for a proposal allowing the Administration for Children and Families to share Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — or TANF — recipients’ information with other federal agencies to Sept. 1, according to a Federal Register listing posted last week.
Without the extension, the policy shift was set to kick in Tuesday, according to another Federal Register notice.
The delay comes as a coalition of Democratic attorneys general is requesting a federal district court vacate ACF’s proposal and declare it unlawful, according to an Aug. 3 filing.
The coalition alleged ACF could illegally share millions of TANF recipients’ Social Security numbers, marital status, income and other sensitive information with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies if the Trump administration has its way.
That data sharing “will erode the trust that State agencies have developed with TANF recipients and will deter qualified beneficiaries from applying for TANF benefits, forcing Plaintiff States to spend more of their own money to ensure that families are housed and children do not go hungry,” the coalition said in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“If ACF can proceed with sharing TANF data with DHS, without clearly defined purposes and limits required by federal law, then community fears that DHS will use that data for other purposes will impede that public trust and chill participation in State TANF programs by citizens and qualified non-citizens alike,” the coalition added.
The group of attorneys general alleged that the administration’s data sharing plan is “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act. The coalition also claimed it violates the Constitution’s Spending Clause because states “could not have foreseen these potential uses and disclosures years ago when they collected and shared this data with ACF.”
An ACF spokesperson did not return a request for comment by the time of publication. The administration wrote in the Federal Register that its TANF data-sharing policies are designed to curtail fraud and ensure compliance with TANF requirements, such as verifying recipients’ immigration status.
A public comment period for the TANF proposal closes Tuesday. The federal government gave states and the District of Columbia nearly $16.5 billion in TANF block grants in fiscal 2024, according to the Congressional Research Service.