A nonpartisan watchdog organization is taking legal action against President Trump, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and its administrator, challenging the assertion that DOGE’s records are immune to public records requests due to the protections offered by the Presidential Records Act (PRA).
According to the PRA, the records associated with DOGE could remain sealed for a maximum of 12 years following Mr. Trump’s departure from the White House.
The Project on Government Oversight (POGO), which focuses on investigating issues of public corruption, waste, and abuses of power across political affiliations, initiated the lawsuit on Friday. They argue that DOGE, which has obtained access to a significant amount of sensitive government data and records, should fall under the purview of the Federal Records Act (FRA) instead of the PRA.
POGO posits that DOGE functions similarly to a federal agency, wielding considerable authority to implement major changes within the federal government. Under the FRA, Americans have the right to request the majority of records from federal agencies.
The FRA mandates that agencies create and maintain their records. Danielle Brian, POGO’s executive director, stated in a press release that given the extensive access granted to Elon Musk and DOGE regarding federal agencies, the records of their operations should be “adequately preserved and accessible to the public.”
“The Trump administration has improperly attempted to conceal DOGE’s actions from the public by claiming it is governed by the Presidential Records Act, necessitating intervention from the courts,” Brian remarked.
Earlier this month, DOGE adviser Katie Miller announced on X that DOGE had been “restructured under the Executive Office of the President and is subject to Presidential Records.”
The president possesses broad authority to determine what constitutes a presidential record under the PRA, a statute that was prominently referenced in the federal case concerning Mr. Trump’s management of classified information. The PRA outlines the procedures for the management of presidential records and allows public access to these records five years after a president’s exit from office, although it also enables the president to limit public access for periods of up to 12 years.
The lawsuit does not specify the identity of the DOGE administrator but asserts that Musk has essentially taken on the role of leader and administrator.
POGO clarified in its legal filing that while the lawsuit names the president, he is included for nominal purposes only, as he is shielded by the PRA from FOIA requests.
The lawsuit has been submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. As of now, the White House and DOGE have not yet responded to a request for comments.
In addition, another watchdog group, American Oversight, has also filed a lawsuit against DOGE after being denied access to its records. This lawsuit similarly seeks to challenge DOGE’s claims of protection from FOIA and demands all of Musk’s communications regarding the termination of federal employees.
