White House taking down petition website, pledges to launch new one

The White House says it will take down a website that hosts petitions to the federal government, with a promise to restore it as a new site next year.

The “We The People” website, launched by then-President Obama in 2011, will be taken down on Tuesday at midnight, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Officials told the AP that platform will be replaced with a new website in late January and that all of the existing petitions will be restored at that time.

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The Trump administration has yet to respond to any petitions that have exceeded 100,000 signatures, which necessitate a response from the federal government.

Trump officials told the AP that the administration will begin responding to the petitions once the new website is live.

Several of the petitions that have reached that threshold are highly critical of President Trump, including calls for him to release his tax returns, for him to divide or put all of his assets in a blind trust, and for him to resign.

The White House says the move will save taxpayers $1.3 million a year.