(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump and the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are facing yet another lawsuit, this time for refusing to fulfill Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
The civil action, filed by watchdog organization Project On Government Oversight, disputes Trump’s claim that DOGE records are covered by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and are therefore not publicly accessible via FOIA.
“Transparency in what DOGE is doing and why is critical if we are going to hold our public actors accountable,” POGO’s attorney Anne Weismann said. “This lawsuit seeks to achieve that accountability by ensuring the DOGE records are properly preserved and accessible through the Freedom of Information Act.”
The suit argues that DOGE, by exercising “substantial independent authority” to implement the president’s agenda, is operating as an agency and therefore must follow agency rules.
Consequently, DOGE is subject to the recordkeeping and availability requirements of the Federal Records Act (FRA), which includes FOIA requirements, POGO says.
POGO also contends that the president’s withholding of DOGE records – or in some cases, failure to keep records on certain DOGE activities at all – “impairs the informational rights” of POGO as a government watchdog organization that frequently utilizes FOIA for its investigations.
“Elon Musk and the DOGE team have been granted sweeping access to the federal agencies, and the records of their activities should be well preserved and made available to the public,” POGO executive director Danielle Brian said.
“The Trump administration has inappropriately tried to hide DOGE’s actions from the public by declaring it is subject to the Presidential Records Act, and the courts must intervene,” she added.
Fourteen states with Democratic attorneys general have also sued over DOGE, arguing its very existence is unconstitutional.
Story by By Thérèse Boudreaux of The Center Square.
Former DNC Official Say Dems ‘Losing Their Minds’ Over Trump, Musk
