In a complaint filed on Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued the Trump regime for the removal of a public database of federal taxpayer expenditures. “By law, defendant Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to operate and maintain an automated system for posting on a publicly accessible website ‘each document apportioning an appropriation… including any associated footnotes’ and a written explanation in each document explaining the rationale for any associated footnotes – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. Pursuant to those statutes, OMB created and, until recently, operated and maintained an automated system for posting each apportionment document, including footnotes and written explanations, to a publicly accessible website (the Public Apportionments Database).”

“The Public Apportionments Database is an important tool used by plaintiff Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and other members of the public to understand how OMB controls and imposes conditions on agency spending. The information contained in the Public Apportionments Database is critical to understanding how OMB has apportioned funds appropriated by Congress, including any requirements or conditions imposed by OMB on an agency’s spending of Congressionally appropriated funds. On or about March 24, 2025, defendants OMB and Russell Vought removed the Public Apportionments Database and the information it contained. Several days later, Defendants stated in a letter to Congress that ‘OMB will no longer operate and maintain the publicly available automated system’ as required by the 2023 Act. Defendants’ action is unlawful.”

Sur-fucking-prise that a regime that pledged transparency in public spending so Americans could see all the DOGE “savings” just turned around and hid it when they kept getting needled for cutting programs that voters don’t actually want to be cut or are just grossly exaggerating if not flat out lying about said “savings.” This even before you consider the other reasons that they’re hiding certain expenditures, like the resources needed so a certain someone can go golfing on weekends.