On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay allowing the Trump administration to protect Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from public records requests. Chief Justice John Roberts’ order halts lower court mandates while the Supreme Court evaluates further action. This means the administration will not have to fulfill requests for documents or allow the deposition of DOGE administrator Amy Gleason, contrary to a prior lower court ruling.
The central issue is whether DOGE qualifies as a government agency under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which permits public access to internal documents. The Trump administration argues that DOGE functions solely as a presidential advisory body, thereby exempting it from FOIA. DOGE was formed as a successor to the U.S. Digital Service and is now referred to as the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS).
The case originated when the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a FOIA request in January after Trump assumed office, seeking information about DOGE. Following lawsuits, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper concluded in March that DOGE is “likely” subject to FOIA, ruling that delaying access to the records would irreparably harm the public. He mandated that DOGE start processing CREW’s requests on an expedited basis and required the government to preserve all potential responsive records.
According to CREW’s lawyers, the court’s order was a tailored approach to determine DOGE’s status as a federal agency. They contend that Supreme Court intervention in ongoing discovery disputes is rarely justified, deeming the current case lacking in grounds for such extraordinary interference.
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