The Fight Against Elon Musk and DOGE's Secrecy
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Over a half dozen lawsuits have been filed by nonprofit groups seeking to challenge the intense secrecy surrounding billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and force the disclosure of records.
At least three of the lawsuits contend that DOGE should be shut down until it “makes records available for inspection by the public,” as required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The other lawsuits ask courts to force officials to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
A key selling point for Musk and President Donald Trump is that American people have never been so supportive of proposals to take a chainsaw to government. But if that's the case, why is Musk thwarting transparency in nearly every way possible?
On January 20, when Trump assumed office, he issued an executive order that renamed the United States Digital Service created by President Barack Obama and established DOGE to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” Musk and DOGE administrators immediately took steps to hide the agency’s spending and operations.
The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) sued Trump and DOGE on February 21, arguing that DOGE is not exempt from FOIA.
Danielle Brian, the executive director of POGO, declared, “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. 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.”
If allowed to maintain files under the Presidential Records Act, it could be 2034 before public interest information is required to be released.
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