100 Days of Obstruction, Secrecy, and Lawlessness: American Oversight Holds Trump Administration Accountable on All Fronts

Now 100 days into the second Trump administration, nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight has been working tirelessly to hold President Trump and his allies accountable amid their nonstop barrage of obstruction, secrecy, and lawlessness.

“At every turn, the president has twisted the power of government to serve his own personal and political interests while simultaneously dismantling critical safeguards that protect the public’s rights and freedoms,” said American Oversight interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “Over the past 100 days, we have left no stone unturned. We will continue shining a light on every instance of the administration’s obstruction, secrecy, and lawlessness. Our mission is simple: advance truth, accountability, and democracy by ensuring adherence to laws that protect the public’s right to government information. We will intervene and stop any attempt by the administration to hide its actions from the American people.”

Below are key highlights of American Oversight’s extensive record of ensuring the transparency and accountability the public deserves:

January 2025

• Launched Investigation into the Unlawful Firing of Inspectors General: After President Trump’s White House personnel director notified over a dozen Senate-confirmed inspectors general on Jan. 24 that they had been unlawfully terminated, American Oversight launched an investigation, filing multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and demanding any communication that would shed light on what, if any, notice was given to Congress — as required by law — regarding the firings.

February 2025

• Filed Suit Over DOGE’s Secretive Efforts to Access Sensitive Information and Cut Critical Services: On Feb. 11, American Oversight filed a lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over its secretive efforts to invade a litany of federal agencies. The lawsuit included FOIA requests for Elon Musk’s communications around efforts to purge the federal workforce.
  
• Launched Investigation into DOJ’s Quid Pro Quo in New York City Mayor Corruption Case: Just days later, American Oversight launched an investigation into acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s apparent quid pro quo order to drop all corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for his cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. As part of its investigation, the organization sent FOIA requests to the Department of Justice seeking records that could shed light on the Justice Department’s political incursion into Adams’ ongoing criminal case.
  
• Filed Bar Complaint Against Acting Deputy Attorney General Bove: We filed a bar complaint against acting Deputy Attorney General Bove for corrupt actions in the dismissal of Adams’ charges, calling for a full investigation of reported misconduct by Bove, who pushed for the dismissal of criminal charges in return for Adams’ political cooperation with the Trump administration.

March 2025

• Filed Suit Over USAID Document-Shredding Directive: On March 11, following reports that staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had been directed to shred and burn classified and personnel documents, American Oversight filed suit against USAID, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and Marco Rubio (as acting USAID administrator and acting U.S. archivist) for violating the Federal Records Act (FRA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and FOIA by failing to preserve agency records from destruction and deleting key records from its website.

March and April 2025

• Filed Suit Over Signalgate Record Destruction: Within 24 hours of The Atlantic’s bombshell reporting that top Trump administration officials had accidentally included a journalist in a Signal group chat discussing sensitive military operations in Yemen, American Oversight filed a lawsuit against five high-ranking administration officials: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State and acting Archivist Marco Rubio. American Oversight’s complaint charged these officials with violations of the FRA and APA for their use of Signal’s disappearing message feature to conduct official government business. On April 1, American Oversight launched a broader investigation into the administration’s systemic use of Signal for official government business.

April 2025

• Launched Investigation into Efforts Undermining the Social Security Administration: On April 11, following reports that the Trump administration planned to slash the Social Security Administration (SSA) workforce by thousands, shutter numerous field offices, and implement policy changes designed to make it more difficult for people to qualify for assistance, American Oversight launched an investigation into the administration’s efforts to undermine and dismantle the SSA.
• Filed Suit Over DOGE for Lawlessness: Just last week, American Oversight filed a lawsuit against DOGE; NARA; Elon Musk, the head of DOGE; Marco Rubio, in his capacity as acting archivist; Amy Gleason, the acting administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service; and DOGE co-head Steve Davis for systemically violating the FRA, the APA, and FOIA. The suit challenges the defendants’ use of Signal and other ephemeral messaging platforms, as well as Google Docs, in an attempt to illegally bypass federal record-keeping requirements and conceal government operations from public scrutiny.