Appeals court rules Trump clamp-down on spending data defies Congress' authority [View all]

Source: Politico

08/09/2025 09:19 PM EDT


A federal appeals court panel shot down a Trump administration bid to make secret a public database of federal spending that researchers say is crucial to ensure the administration is not flouting Congress’ power of the purse.

In an order issued Saturday evening, the three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted unanimously to give the administration until Friday to put the data back online.

Two of the three appeals judges assigned to the matter also signed onto a forceful opinion declaring that the administration’s bid to conceal the data was an affront to Congress’ authority over government spending, one that threatened the separation of powers and defied centuries of evidence that public disclosure is necessary for the public good.

“No court would allow a losing party to defy its judgment. No President would allow a usurper to command our armed forces,” Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee, wrote in support of the decision to deny the Trump administration’s request to keep the data under wraps while litigation over the issue goes forward. “And no Congress should be made to wait while the Executive intrudes on its plenary power over appropriations.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/09/appeals-court-rules-trump-clamp-down-on-spending-data-defies-congress-authority-00501348