Government Efficiency (DOGE) may be subject to the Federal Judge Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He ruled late Mondayrejects the Trump administration's position that the group does not have to respond to public records requests.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper has discovered that Doge exercises substantial authority independent of the president, which is the subject of FOIA.
His findings were rooted in the group's rapid efforts to dismantle parts of the federal bureaucracy, and media reports detailing some of the statements from President Trump and Elon Musk.
“Canceling government contracts appears to require substantial authority, and cancelling them on this scale certainly does,” wrote Cooper, former President Obama's appointee.
Cooper refused to grant Doge and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) additional crew requests to create responsive records immediately. Instead, the judge directed production to begin “on a rolling basis as soon as it becomes feasible.”
However, Cooper refused to grant Doge and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an additional crew request to create a responsive record immediately. Instead, the judge directed production to begin “on a rolling basis as soon as possible.”
“Unfortunately, for the crew, they do not meet the qualifying factors that facilitate the generation of preliminary relief orders for OMB requests by today's date,” Cooper wrote.
Oka reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
The case is one of several lawsuits designed to test the Trump administration's argument that Doge is not subject to the FOIA request. Other cases remained in previous stages, and Monday's ruling is the first time a judge has placed emphasis on the issue.
Other lawsuits remain pending regarding Doge's access to confidential systems at federal agencies. These cases revolve mostly around another federal privacy law, with mixed results.
