Judge rules Trump administration broke law in takedown of public funding tracker

A federal judge ruled the Trump administration violated federal law by taking down a public website that showed how funding is apportioned to federal agencies, ordering its reinstatement.

U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan ruled Monday that removal of the online database overseen by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) violated legislation passed by Congress, which requires the OMB to make apportionment decisions publicly available within two business days.

“There is nothing unconstitutional about Congress requiring the Executive Branch to inform the public of how it is apportioning the public’s money. Defendants are therefore required to stop violating the law!” Sullivan wrote in his 60-page opinion.

The judge ordered the administration to reinstate the database. But at the Justice Department’s request, he paused his order until Thursday morning, so the administration can decide whether it will seek emergency relief from an appeals court.

The Hill has reached out to the OMB and the Justice Department for comment. 

Under the apportionments process, agencies are given limited authority to spend funding allocated by Congress in installments.

Congress required the OMB to implement an “automated system to post each document apportioning an appropriation” as part of a legislative funding deal signed into law in 2022. The office was also ordered to “operate and maintain” the automated system for “fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter” in another funding bill that also became law that year.

But the website went dark earlier this year after the Trump administration said it could not continue to operate the system, arguing it contained sensitive information that could pose a threat to national security. In court, the administration contended the requirement to post the information is unconstitutional.

Sullivan, an appointee of former President Clinton, rejected the argument. He went on to find the administration was violating the two funding deals and the Paperwork Reduction Act’s requirement to timely disseminate public information.

The ruling sides with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Protect Democracy, which have filed various legal challenges against the administration and sued over the tracker takedown in April.

“When Defendants removed the Public Apportionments Database, they deprived CREW and Protect Democracy of information to which they are statutorily entitled, and which they relied on to monitor government funding, respond to possible legal violations, and provide transparency to the public,” Sullivan wrote.

The website’s takedown is just one of a series of actions by the administration that have been challenged in court this year, as it’s undertaken a sweeping operation to downsize certain parts of government without congressional approval.

“Today’s decision makes clear that the executive branch cannot simply ignore appropriations laws they disagree with on policy grounds, no matter what President Trump or OMB Director Russell Vought thinks," said Cerin Lindgrensavage, counsel at Protect Democracy, in a statement. “Congress passed a law making sure the American public could see how their taxpayer dollars are being spent, and we will continue to hold the administration accountable for making good on that promise.”

The Trump administration has faced bipartisan pressure to restore the apportionments database in recent months, as members on both sides have said the administration is required by law to operate the website.

“It’s the law. It’s a requirement of the law, so it’s not discretionary on OMB’s part,” Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) told The Hill earlier this year.