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The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over whether Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has to turn over records about its operations under public records law.
Getting into it: The justices on Tuesday took up a Trump administration appeal in a lawsuit brought by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which has been seeking DOGE records since early 2025. It all comes down to how DOGE should be classified.
CREW argues DOGE was a federal agency wielding independent power and is therefore subject to the Freedom of Information Act, while the administration says it was a presidential advisory body, which typically keeps its records out of reach of FOIA requests. US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in March 2025 that DOGE was “likely” covered by FOIA and ordered it to hand over documents, and an appeals court panel agreed. The case has already reached the Supreme Court once.
In June 2025, the conservative majority ruled that Cooper’s order was too broad and blocked a deposition of DOGE acting administrator Amy Gleason, over the dissent of the three liberal justices. CREW has since narrowed its request, saying it now seeks only DOGE guidance to staff on canceling contracts and firing federal workers, not White House communications. The administration appealed again after losing a second time in the lower courts. Arguments are expected early next year, with a ruling by the end of June.
CREW lawyer Nikhel Sus said DOGE has lost at every level below the Supreme Court, adding that the American people “deserve to know the details of the Trump Administration’s efforts to unilaterally remake the federal government.” The group says undisputed facts, including Trump’s own statements, show DOGE “was wielding enormous independent authority across the federal government.”
This all comes as DOGE’s operations have largely wound down after Musk’s departure last year, and after a Government Accountability Office report found errors in some of DOGE’s savings claims, including figures with no backing and cuts that started before DOGE did.
