National Press Club Statement on the Elimination of Data from Federal Agency Websites

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. issued the following statement today to mark the start of Sunshine Week, which helps educate the public, journalists, lawmakers, and others on the right to know, and advocates for transparency and public access to government data in the U.S. states and federal government.

"As we mark Sunshine Week, the National Press Club is deeply concerned about the growing disappearance of federal data from government websites under the Trump administration.

Public data belongs to the public. When that information is removed, restricted, or allowed to quietly vanish, it undermines transparency and weakens accountability. It also makes it harder for those in vital industries including public health, education, law enforcement, transportation, and journalism to serve the public.

The National Press Club calls on federal agencies to immediately restore any datasets or public records that have been removed from government websites and to ensure that federal data remains consistently accessible to journalists, researchers, and the public. We also urge lawmakers to take action to protect the long-term availability of public data so that no administration, present or future, can quietly erase information that belongs to the American people.

Transparency is not optional in a democracy. It is essential.

Federal data is not an abstract resource. It is the foundation for critical day-to-day infrastructures across the country and the basis for reporting that helps communities understand the world around them.

When those datasets disappear, consequences ripple far beyond the newsroom. Journalists must have the ability to track disparities, expose wrongdoings, and explain complex issues in ways that help people make informed decisions.

Sunshine Week reminds us that government transparency is a cornerstone of democracy. The removal or suppression of federal data erodes that principle and deprives Americans of information they have every right to access."

Media Contact: Beth Francesco, National Press Club Journalism Institute executive director, [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club