US judge orders Trump administration to restore funding database after law violation

WASHINGTON:A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration violated federal law by shutting down a public website that displayed how federal funds are distributed to government agencies, ordering the platform’s reinstatement, The Hill reported.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan, in a ruling on Monday, determined that the removal of the online database managed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) violated legislation enacted by Congress, which mandates that apportionment decisions be made 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, according to The Hill.

While Sullivan ordered the administration to restore the apportionments database immediately, the Justice Department requested and was granted a delay until Thursday morning to allow time to seek emergency relief from an appellate court.

The dispute stems from Congress’s directive that the OMB implement and maintain an automated system to publish each apportionment document. This requirement, established through bipartisan funding laws in 2022, was to remain in effect for fiscal year 2023 and every year thereafter.

However, earlier this year, the Trump administration took the site offline, claiming it contained sensitive information that could threaten national security. The administration further argued in court that the requirement to publish the data was unconstitutional. Sullivan, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, rejected that argument and found that the administration had violated both funding statutes and the Paperwork Reduction Act, The Hill reported.

The case was brought by watchdog organizations Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Protect Democracy, who filed suit in April over the website’s takedown. The plaintiffs argued that the move deprived them, and the public, of access to vital government spending data.

“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 in the ruling, The Hill noted.

Cerin Lindgrensavage, counsel at Protect Democracy, said the ruling reaffirmed the limits of executive power in bypassing legislative mandates.

“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,” she said in a statement cited by The Hill. “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 ruling also received strong praise from congressional Democrats. Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, called it a “decisive victory for transparency, the Constitution, and the rule of law,” The Hill reported.

“When I drafted this requirement–and it was signed into law–it was not about which party held power,” DeLauro said in a statement. “It was about showing the American people how their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being spent in their communities. Now, it is time for the Trump administration to show what it has done with working Americans’ money since they broke this basic, bipartisan transparency law.”

The Hill also reported that the Trump administration has faced bipartisan pressure in recent months to reinstate the apportionments database.

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

The Office of Management and Budget and the Justice Department have not yet commented on the ruling. (ANI)