Overview

• U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan held that taking down the Office of Management and Budget’s online apportionments tracker broke a law requiring agencies to post funding decisions within two business days.
• Sullivan directed that the database be restored immediately but stayed his mandate until Thursday so the Justice Department could decide on seeking emergency relief in an appeals court.
• The judge rejected the administration’s argument that the posting requirement was unconstitutional and ruled that the takedown also breached the Impoundment Control Act’s prohibition on withholding approved funds.
• Watchdog groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Protect Democracy filed suit in April, contending the removal deprived them of statutorily entitled information for oversight.
• Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and other lawmakers had emphasized that maintaining the apportionments site is a legal obligation rather than a discretionary action.