A federal appeals court has rejected a Trump administration bid to keep secret a public database detailing federal spending, ruling the information must be restored online by Friday, Politico reported Saturday night.
In a unanimous decision Saturday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court order requiring the administration to put the data back online. Two judges — Karen Henderson, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Robert Wilkins, appointed by President Barack Obama — issued a sharp opinion blasting the administration's move as an assault on Congress' constitutional power of the purse.
"No court would allow a losing party to defy its judgment," Henderson wrote. "No President would allow a usurper to command our armed forces. And no Congress should be made to wait while the Executive intrudes on its plenary power over appropriations."
The legal battle began in March, when the Trump administration abruptly shut down the publicly accessible database, claiming it hampered the president's ability to manage spending and revealed sensitive information. Critics, including watchdog groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Protect Democracy, sued, accusing the administration of undermining transparency and preparing to illegally withhold congressionally approved funds.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the site restored, but the administration won a temporary pause. Saturday's ruling lifted that pause, giving the White House until Aug. 15 to comply.
The dispute comes amid broader tensions between Trump and Congress over control of federal spending. The president has signaled interest in "impounding" funds he opposes, and lawmakers have raised concerns about his administration's termination of billions in grants and contracts mandated by law.
Unless the full appeals court or the Supreme Court intervenes, the spending data will soon be publicly available again.
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