A lawsuit was filed against President Donald Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency shortly after he was sworn into office.
Plaintiffs argued in the 30-page lawsuit that the Elon Musk-led advisory committee is in violation of federal transparency rules outlined in the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Under this law, federal advisory committees, which the plaintiffs argued DOGE is, are required to hold public meetings and many other requirements the group has appeared not to take action on.
National Security Counselors, the public interest law firm behind the lawsuit, is arguing that DOGE is failing to adhere to certain hiring practices — it has already hired dozens of employees — and other rules of disclosure. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Public Citizen, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and the American Federation of Government Employees.
“This is not about cutting redundant staff; this is about billionaires gutting important programs that American citizens across the country rely on every single day without adequate transparency or accountability,” Ambassador Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chairman of State Democracy Defenders Fund, said in a statement. “We are a country where everyone is beholden to the rule of law. No one, no matter the size of their checkbook or the office they hold, is exempt from following our laws.”
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“DOGE is not exempted from FACA’s requirements,” National Security Counselors Executive Director Kel Mcclanahan wrote. “All meetings of DOGE, including those conducted through an electronic medium, must be open to the public.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jerald Lentini, a local elected official in Connecticut and an attorney for National Security Counselors, and Joshua Erlich, who owns an employment law firm that regularly represents federal employees. Both of them sent applications to join the DOGE, stating they were applying because DOGE “does not currently have an individual who will speak on behalf of government workers and their interests,” according to the lawsuit. Their applications were disregarded.
“Not a single member of DOGE is a federal employee or represents the perspective of federal employees,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks to bar Musk, his co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy, and “all of DOGE’s subunits” from engaging in an official capacity until they comply with the FACA.
“We’re not trying to say DOGE can’t exist,” Mcclanahan said in a statement to the Washington Post. “Advisory committees like DOGE have been around for decades. We’re just saying that DOGE can’t exist without following the law. If DOGE turns around and complies with FACA, the case is over.”
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However, Sam Hammond, senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, said DOGE is exempt from FACA requirements because it will only work within the executive branch and White House, which do not have to follow FACA requirements.
“DOGE isn’t a federal advisory committee because DOGE doesn’t really exist,” Hammond said. “DOGE is a branding exercise, a shorthand for Trump’s government reform efforts.”
