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Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The White House has shut down its petition website -- where citizens could lobby for issues like gay rights and the release of President Donald Trump's tax returns. The We The People website, established under former President Barack Obama, was shut down for maintenance -- and, the White House said, will return next month.
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"All existing petitions and associated signatures have been preserved and will be available when the site is relaunched. Following the site's relaunch, petitions that have reached the required number of signatures will begin receiving responses," a message on the site said.
In the meantime, those who wish to receive updates about petitions can sign up for email updates on the official White House website.
Administration officials said We the People will be re-launched as a different site at the end of January -- a move they say will save taxpayers about $1.3 million per year.
The administration has not said, however, what format the new site will take.
Petition campaigns on the site, launched in 2011, would be submitted to administration policy experts if they reached a minimum of 100,000 signatures.
A Trump administration official said all existing petitions and responses will be restored next year.
One popular petition under the new administration is one that calls for Trump's tax returns to be released.
