Multiple groups file lawsuits to get DOGE records

Another group is suing for access to records from the Department of Government Efficiency, which the Trump administration has allegedly tried to shield from the public. 

The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit conservation organization, on Thursday amended a lawsuit it initially filed on Inauguration Day to compel the government to provide such records under the Freedom of Information Act — a law that requires agencies to disclose requested information with limited exceptions. 

“The public has every right to know what kind of rogue agency Elon Musk and his tech-bro army have created,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the center, said in a statement. “Musk’s wrecking ball outfit should be called the Department of Government Evisceration because he’s destroying critical federal agencies that keep us and the environment safe and healthy. The reality is that rebuilding functioning federal agencies will cost far more in the long run than any trivial savings gained.”

Other watchdog groups have sued for DOGE records, generally arguing that the Trump administration has not complied with their FOIA requests: 

• American Oversight on Feb. 11 filed a lawsuit seeking the release of any records about Musk and DOGE’s involvement in the mass firings of inspectors general.   
• On Feb. 20, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked a court to force the disclosure of DOGE records by March 10.   
• The Project on Government Oversight on Feb. 21 submitted a challenge to the Trump administration’s claim that such records are subject to the Presidential Records Act. That law restricts access to such information for up to 12 years after the president leaves office. 

“DOGE is a component within the [Executive Office of the President] that advises and assists the President on making government more efficient. As an advise-and-assist component, it falls under the Presidential Records Act,” a White House official said in a statement to Government Executive.
ProPublica reported that DOGE has received nearly $40 million in funding. Because it got most of that money from other agencies, however, that could subject it to open-records laws. 

“If DOGE is a federal agency, it can’t shield its records from the public. If it’s not an agency, then DOGE’s tens of millions of dollars in funding weren’t legally allocated and should be returned, some contend,” according to the report. 

ProPublica’s article also said it’s unclear how many people work for DOGE and if they’re getting paid. 

While Musk is not the technical head of DOGE, he has been designated as a special government employee. And Trump has referred to Musk as being in charge of DOGE. 

Musk and DOGE have been involved in efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, terminate government contracts and remove thousands of federal employees.