US Supreme Court agrees to hear case on oversight of Elon Musk's DOGE records
Trump administration argues DOGE is exempt from Freedom of Information requirements
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by a watchdog seeking public documents about billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Supreme Court on Tuesday intervened for the second time in a Washington case filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), which is seeking access to DOGE records of its activities in the early days of Donald Trump's second term as president. The Trump administration asked the court to hear the case.
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End of listing Last year, the Supreme Court blocked a district court order for the government to provide CREW with DOGE records. A conservative majority of the Supreme Court ruled in June 2025 that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had granted too broad a warrant to hand over documents to the group.
CREW contends that DOGE is a federal agency and therefore subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The Trump administration argues that DOGE is exempt from FOIA requirements as an advisory body to the president.
Cooper ruled in CREW's favor and ordered an expedited hearing on the group's records request. The Court of Appeal panel was also with the crew.
The Trump administration claims the panel ignored a Supreme Court order to investigate concerns about the separation of powers and the violation of the "independence and confidentiality" of the president's advisers.
"Defining advisory bodies as intrusive discovery raises the same concerns that Congress sought to avoid by excluding presidential advisory bodies from the reach of FOIA," the attorneys for the US Department of Justice wrote.
The government also says the appeals court impermissibly allowed the plaintiffs to swear in DOGE Acting Director Amy Gleason.
CREW says the appeals court fully followed the Supreme Court's previous order. The group also asserts that the public has a right to know how the DOGE helped the government review government operations in 2025.
“The undisputed facts in the public record — including the president's statements — confirm that (DOGE) enjoys enormous independent authority throughout the federal government,” CREW attorneys wrote.
CREW attorney Nicole Suess said in a statement Tuesday that lower courts have ruled similarly, which could help the court determine whether DOGE has the kind of authority that would make it subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
"We will seek transparency for the American people, who deserve to know the details of the Trump administration's efforts to unilaterally restructure the federal government," Sass said in the statement.
The DOGE said tens of billions of dollars in spending were cut, but its claims were difficult for foreign financial experts to verify.
Federal auditors found that some of DOGE's reported savings in contract terminations, grants, and leases were inaccurate, lacked supporting evidence, or included terminations that were already underway when DOGE was established.