Washington: The White House temporarily shut down its website for petitions from midnight yesterday until a new one is set up in late January, reports BBC. The “We The People” site was set up by the Obama administration in 2011. It promised a response to all petitions drawing more than 100,000 signatures but the Trump administration has not responded to any since January. The White House said its new platform would save taxpayers more than $1m (£746,500) a year. The total budget of the White House for 2018 is $55m and its information technology budget for the year is $4.94m. A White House official told the Associated Press news agency that the administration would “respond to public concerns next year” and that all existing petitions would be reinstated then