Supreme Court Reviews Trump Bid to Withhold DOGE Records

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review the Trump administration's effort to prevent a government watchdog from obtaining records about the Department of Government Efficiency, the federal initiative involved in dismissing thousands of government employees and canceling public funding. The case centers on whether DOGE must disclose internal documents under the Freedom of Information Act, with a ruling expected by the end of June.

The Justice Department appealed after lower courts rejected the administration's objections to requests from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group also known as CREW. The requested records concern DOGE's guidance to employees on terminating government contracts and dismissing federal workers.

The administration maintains that DOGE is a presidential advisory body rather than a government agency subject to public records requests. CREW argues that its remaining requests do not seek communications with the White House that might be exempt from disclosure under the law.

The Supreme Court has already intervened once in the dispute. In an earlier provisional decision, the justices blocked parts of a lower court ruling that would have required the government to turn over thousands of pages of records and prevented the plaintiffs' attorneys from deposing DOGE administrator Amy Gleason.

Following that intervention, CREW narrowed its requests, but the government continued to oppose disclosure. Solicitor General D. John Sauer subsequently asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the matter after the administration lost in lower courts. The requested information remains on hold while the litigation proceeds.

A central legal question is whether DOGE qualifies as a government agency under the Freedom of Information Act, which allows members of the public to request federal records. The administration argues that DOGE's advisory role places it outside the law's disclosure requirements, despite its name.

The dispute also involves the organizational status of the initiative. When DOGE was established, it effectively replaced an existing government entity, the U.S. Digital Service.

The Trump administration now refers to the organization as the U.S. DOGE Service, or USDS.

DOGE, spearheaded by former administration adviser Elon Musk, became a prominent and controversial part of President Donald Trump's early months in office. Its activities included a significant role in dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, and its operations have since diminished.

CREW first sought DOGE records through a Freedom of Information Act request shortly after Trump took office in January 2025, then filed a lawsuit to obtain the information.

In March 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington ruled that DOGE was "likely" covered by the Freedom of Information Act. Cooper warned that "the public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay in unearthing the records CREW seeks."