As the Trump administration clashes with Congress over the power of the purse, top Republicans and Democratic appropriators are questioning why the White House took down a website tracking federal spending, Carl Hulse of The New York Times reports.
In a letter sent last month to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, the Republican chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Rep. Tom Cole and Sen. Susan Collins, and their Democratic counterparts, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patty Murray, said that taking down the site was a violation of the law. “All four of us have indicated and advised O.M.B. that it is not optional to do the public website,” Collins told the Times.
Democrats have sharply criticized the budget office, but the bipartisan pushback in this case stands out. “While Ms. Collins has publicly broken with the White House on other issues, including its decision not to spend congressionally approved emergency aid, the decision by Mr. Cole to sign on was striking given he is much more closely allied with the White House,” Hulse notes.
Two public interest groups sued Vought and the budget office last month for taking down the site, arguing that the move reduces Trump administration transparency and accountability. In a filing in the case, the administration argued that the apportionments in question are subject to change and requiring them to be disclosed would have a chilling effect on OMB’s decision-making process. The administration also claimed that the laws requiring the disclosure of “deliberative” information — that is, spending decisions that aren’t final — violate the constitutional separation of powers.
The Government Accountability Office has disputed the notion that all apportionment data is sensitive enough to be kept from being disclosed.