US EditionJudge rules Trump administration broke law in takedown of public funding tracker
WASHINGTON, D.C., JUL 21 – Federal judge ruled Trump administration unlawfully removed mandated public spending database, ordering restoration to ensure transparency of congressional fund allocations within two days.
- A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration unlawfully shut down a publicly accessible database tracking federal spending and ordered its restoration.
- This ruling follows the 2022 law mandating executive agencies publish apportionment decisions online to ensure transparency, a law the administration contested as unconstitutional.
- The agency responsible for federal budget management disabled the database in late March 2025, citing concerns that the disclosed information was sensitive, not yet finalized, and discouraged candid discussions within the executive branch.
- Judge Sullivan dismissed OMB's claims as an unfounded and excessive interpretation of presidential power, affirming that Congress holds broad power to mandate transparency regarding the Executive Branch’s use of appropriated funds.
- The ruling requires OMB to reinstate the website promptly and prevents future removals, reinforcing oversight and public access to how taxpayer funds are allotted and spent.
47 Articles
47 Articles
Trump administration ordered to restore Public Apportionments database
The Office of Management and Budget has until today to turn the lights back on one of its key public spending transparency websites. In March, OMB shut down its Congressionally-mandated database that tracks the apportionment of funds to individual agencies, saying it didn’t believe it should have to provide “predecisional” information. On Monday, a federal judge found that decision violated the law, and gave the Trump administration until 10 a.m…
Judge Rules Trump Can't Hide How Taxpayer Money Is Spent
Advocacy groups that sued U.S. President Donald Trump's administration this spring for taking offline a legally mandated website that details federal spending celebrated on Monday after a federal judge ordered the restoration of the Public Apportionments Database. "The law is clear that the federal government must make its appropriations decisions public," said Adina Rosenbaum, Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney and counsel on the case, in…
Experts raise red flags as White House makes concerning U-turn on vital public resource: 'Doesn't want people to know'
The Trump administration has once again reversed a major decision regarding vital climate-based assessments, and many experts are sounding the alarm. What's happening? In June, the Trump administration revealed that it was shutting down the U.S. Global Change Research Program's website, globalchange.gov, which hosted the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessments as well as other climate research. This decision removed public acce…
Fed Up Judge Orders Trump to ‘Stop Violating The Law!’ in Brutal Ruling for Hiding Taxpayer Spending
A federal judge just hit Donald Trump with a blunt message: “Stop violating the law!” In a searing ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan found that Trump’s White House illegally shut down a public website meant to show how federal agencies are spending taxpayer money. “There is nothing unconstitutional about Congress requiring the Executive Branch to inform the public of how it is apportioning the public’s money,” Sullivan wrote i…
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