American Oversight Urges Supreme Court to Reject Trump Administration’s Effort to Shield DOGE and Musk from Transparency

On Friday, nonprofit watchdog American Oversight filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court opposing the Trump administration’s application for a stay of the district court’s order granting Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) limited discovery against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk. The brief includes previously undisclosed records obtained by American Oversight that undermine the government’s claims.

The administration’s application for stay follows a March ruling in which a federal district judge found that DOGE is “likely subject to FOIA” and authorized CREW to obtain more information before a final determination is made, and an unsuccessful attempt to secure intervention from the D.C. Circuit.

“This stay request is nothing more than the administration’s defiant attempt to evade responsibility for DOGE’s harmful, reckless cuts,” said American Oversight Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “The administration is asking the Supreme Court to step in not to uphold the law, but to shield its actions from public scrutiny and keep the American people in the dark. If DOGE is secretly directing agency actions, the public has a right to know. That’s not just transparency — it’s accountability and it’s the law.”

American Oversight’s brief argues that, in order to decide whether DOGE is definitively a “federal agency” under FOIA, a court must take a close look at how DOGE actually operates — something that cannot be resolved without factual discovery. The watchdog further argues that attempts to block this basic transparency risk undermining not only CREW’s case but American Oversight’s own ongoing litigation against DOGE, in which the watchdog is seeking critical information about how DOGE is influencing federal policy behind closed doors.

The nonprofit watchdog’s brief reveals previously undisclosed FOIA-obtained records from agencies outside DOGE that undermine the government’s claims about DOGE’s structure and operations. Though some agencies denied having DOGE teams in response to FOIA requests, other documents and public reporting show DOGE-linked individuals embedded in those agencies, halting payments and firing staff. One agency confirmed it had a DOGE team but identified personnel working across multiple agencies — contradicting the claim that embedded DOGE staff work directly for their agencies, rather than DOGE itself. The evidence suggests DOGE’s reach is broader and more coordinated than acknowledged, reinforcing the need for discovery to determine whether DOGE qualifies as a federal agency under FOIA.

In April, Elon Musk proclaimed DOGE to be the “the most transparent organization in government ever.” Soon after, American Oversight filed another lawsuit against DOGE and several Trump administration officials to uncover the truth about DOGE’s influence over federal decision-making and ensure that government operations — especially those wielding power to fire employees and halt payments — are subject to public scrutiny.

For more information on American Oversight’s investigation into DOGE, click here.