Overview

• The three-judge D.C. Circuit unanimously denied the administration’s request to stay a district court injunction requiring restoration of the public database of federal expenditures.
• Judges Karen Henderson and Robert Wilkins issued a forceful opinion characterizing the concealment bid as an affront to Congress’s power of the purse and a threat to separation of powers.
• The panel set Friday, August 15, as the deadline for the administration to make the spending data publicly accessible unless it secures further appellate relief.
• The ruling follows Judge Emmet Sullivan’s April order mandating immediate restoration after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Protect Democracy sued.
• The decision reinforces judicial enforcement of transparency statutes and Congress’s exclusive authority over appropriations under the Impoundment Control Act.