The Trump administration has restored a public database that reveals how funding is apportioned to federal agencies following a recent order by a federal appeals court. The website was restored over the weekend, following a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Under the apportionments process, agencies are given limited authority to spend funding allocated by Congress in installments. Congress required the Office of Management and Budget (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. However, 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. Advocates have hailed the return of the tracker as a major win for transparency, as the administration has faced legal challenges in recent months over efforts to freeze funding already allocated by Congress. Publicly disclosing apportionments helps protect against any illegal abuses or withholdings of funds, as President Trump attempted to do when he sought to illegally withhold federal funds from Ukraine in exchange for political favors. Both groups sued the administration over the website’s previous takedown. Democrats have continued to raise scrutiny over the administration’s revival of the database, with some describing the website’s return as a “partial restoration.” Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that OMB must ensure every last bit of this important budget data is promptly made public and posted within days, as the law requires.
The Trump administration has resumed the restoration of public spending data following a legal battle. HoangMySpa 141
