American Oversight Asks Court to Reject Latest Trump Administration Attempt to Block DOGE Transparency

On Monday, the Trump administration filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia opposing American Oversight’s request for discovery into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the controversial and opaque entity exerting unprecedented control across the federal government.

The nonprofit watchdog’s discovery motion asked the court to order DOGE to answer a series of targeted questions and produce documents to determine whether the entity is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Mounting evidence and the government’s own inconsistent statements suggest that DOGE, created by President Trump and led until recently by Elon Musk, wields sweeping independent authority, far exceeding the government’s claim that it exists solely to advise the president.

“Despite claims that DOGE would be the most transparent organization in government, the Trump administration is once again attempting to block the public’s right to know the truth about one of the most powerful and unaccountable forces in our government. This begs the question:  What are they trying to hide?,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “If DOGE is merely advising the president and not — as mounting evidence suggests — independently issuing directives, firing civil servants, and shutting down agencies, then discovery will make that clear. No president should be allowed to construct a shadow government that evades the laws and shields its actions from oversight. We will ask the court to reject this latest attempt to conceal the truth from the public.”

In its lawsuit, American Oversight outlines extensive evidence contradicting the government’s claim that DOGE is merely an advisory body. Public reporting has shown that DOGE has issued numerous directives to federal agencies, overridden decisions made by cabinet and agency officials, and deployed a network of Musk-linked operatives to implement its agenda — often without White House knowledge or oversight.

American Oversight’s motion sought a court order compelling DOGE to provide discovery, including answering interrogatories, responding to document requests, and providing legal admissions about its authority, operations, and leadership — potentially including depositions of DOGE leadership.
Late last month, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request for a stay in a similar FOIA lawsuit brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, temporarily blocking the district court’s order requiring DOGE to produce records and sit for depositions and instructing the  D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to narrow the scope of CREW’s discovery requests. American Oversight filed an amicus brief in that case urging the Court to reject the Trump administration’s unprecedented attempt to shield DOGE and Musk from transparency.