Beshear joins lawsuit to shield TANF data from Trump administration

Beth Musgrave, Lexington Herald-Leader on Aug 3, 2026

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Gov. Andy Beshear joined 23 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration over access to personal information and data of people who receive low-income assistance.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Washington, D.C., challenges a new regulation from taking affect that would allow the federal government to use information from state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF data to check immigration status, Social Security information and other private data.

This is the latest in a string of lawsuits filed by state and local governments against the Trump administration over what types of data the federal government can access.

Recently, a federal judge dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice attempt to get access to Kentucky voter rolls.

“Instead of helping families struggling with the rising cost of living, this administration is trying to turn antipoverty programs against the people they’re supposed to serve,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

James is a co-counsel in the lawsuit.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program provides more than $16 billion to states, D.C. and tribal governments in grants to help low-income families through cash assistance, job training or other programs.

According to Kentucky data, roughly 35,000 people are on the program.

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