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Minnesota AG and coalition sue Trump administration over unlawful TANF data sharing

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)August 3, 2026Minnesota Attorney General

Summary

Attorney General Ellison joined a coalition of 23 other states and DC to sue the Trump administration over a policy that would allow the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to share sensitive TANF recipient data with other federal agencies. The lawsuit argues the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause, and seeks to block its implementation.

Remedy

The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring ACF's policy illegal and preventing it from being implemented.

Injunction

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review any contracts with government agencies or that involve handling of sensitive personal data, particularly data related to social services like TANF. They should ensure that data sharing clauses are strictly limited to authorized purposes and that any disclosure to third parties or other government entities requires explicit consent or legal authority. Additionally, contracts should include robust confidentiality and data security provisions, and should specify that data cannot be used for immigration enforcement or other unrelated purposes. Reviewing data processing agreements and ensuring compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and constitutional spending clause limitations is also advisable.

Contract Search Terms

data sharinggovernment dataconfidentialityprivacyTANFsocial security numbersimmigration statusdata minimizationauthorized useconsent

Laws Cited

Administrative Procedure ActSpending Clause of the U.S. Constitution

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Industry

Other

Multistate Coalition

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued a notice"
Laws Cited
"violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution"
Violation Types
"illegal sharing of millions of TANF recipients’ private data"

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