GAO says OMB takedown of apportionments website violates federal statutes
The Trump administration’s removal of a website that posted funds appropriated by Congress is a violation of statutory requirements, the Government Accountability Office said in a letter to the White House this week.
The watchdog’s determination followed a letter sent by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., last month. DeLauro, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, had criticized OMB for taking down the apportionments page, calling the move illegal.
Vought wrote in his letter to DeLauro that OMB could no longer operate and maintain the system because it “requires the disclosure of sensitive, predecisional and deliberative information” and that as information changes, “such disclosures have a chilling effect on the deliberations within the executive branch.”
But the GAO wasn’t buying that explanation, pointing in its Tuesday letter to a federal statute on transparency in congressional spending. “As apportionments are legally binding decisions on agencies under the Antideficiency Act, we note that such information, by definition, cannot be predecisional or deliberative,” the GAO wrote.
Additionally, the watchdog warned Vought that if OMB does not reinstate this data, the comptroller general has “a broad statutory right of access to apportionment data” and will “seek such apportionment data accordingly.”
“This is very concerning because of the potential implications for review of such records for federal audits, congressional oversight, specifically with regard to Congress’s power of the purse,” GAO wrote.
It continued: “As you know, apportionments are a critical part of the legal framework, anchored in the Antideficiency Act, that helps to ensure the responsible use of taxpayer dollars as well as to protect Congress’s power of the purse.”
The GAO also shot down Vought’s claims of national security concerns by posting apportionments, responding that while some information would be sensitive if disclosed publicly, “it is not the case that all apportionment data meets that standard.”
“Where there is such sensitive data that should be protected from public disclosure, those would be the exception and should not serve to take down the entire database,” the watchdog wrote.
In response to a request for comment, a senior Trump administration official said “GAO is an arm of Congress.”
The GAO’s letter was sent the same day as the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit against Vought over OMB’s removal of the public-facing resource.
Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, applauded GAO’s letter, with Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, saying in a statement that having a public record of where taxpayer money is spent is crucial for oversight purposes.
“Unilaterally impounding funds is illegal, and [President Donald] Trump and Vought are trying to hide that they are gutting the federal government piece by piece,” Merkley said. “GAO confirmed that OMB’s reasoning for removing the website was wrong, and that apportionment data does not contain any sensitive information or threaten our national security. The laws Congress passes are not suggestions, and the President is not a king. It is past time for OMB to follow the law.”
This story was updated April 11, 2025, to correct an editing error regarding the committee on which Merkley serves.
