Several leftist nonprofit organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday. The complaint centers on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a non-government advisory group headed by X owner Elon Musk to slash government spending.
A group of nonprofit organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the American Public Health Association (APHA), and several others, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the legality of DOGE.
NEW: The first lawsuits against the incoming Trump Administration have already been filed by several non-profit groups which allege that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) violates federal transparency laws. https://t.co/wc38vTAovu
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) January 20, 2025
The plaintiffs argue that DOGE’s existence violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) because it is allegedly operating without transparency and a balanced membership. The complaint further suggests that the group is unduly influenced by special interests.
DOGE was created to advise the federal government on how it could cut unnecessary and costly federal programs. The group “is slated to dictate federal policy in ways that will affect millions of Americans, including those communities that Plaintiffs represent,” the complaint stated.
Yet, DOGE members “have taken none of the required steps necessary to properly establish DOGE as a federal advisory committee consistent with FACA,” the plaintiffs argue. The complaint asserts that the group’s creation was “arbitrary, capricious, and abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”
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Defendants have failed to ensure that DOGE has (i) ‘a clearly defined purpose’; (ii) a membership that is ‘fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory committee’; and (iii) ‘appropriate provisions to assure that the advice and recommendations of the advisory committee will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest.’
The plaintiffs claim DOGE’s staff operates under secrecy because its members use Signal, an encrypted messaging app, to communicate with one another. “DOGE’s use of Signal threatens to irreparably deprive Plaintiffs and the American public of records to which they are entitled under FACA,” the complaint reads, further noting that the group’s records “provide the public with critical information about who is influencing DOGE’s recommendations to the Trump administration.”
FACA requires that ‘the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents . . . shall be available for public inspection and copying.’ DOGE has failed to make any of its records publicly available.
The plaintiffs contend that the makeup of DOGE’s excludes important stakeholders, which raises questions about its objectivity. “DOGE excludes the perspectives of people with the greatest stake in the services and programs it will recommend eliminating,” the document reads.
DOGE’s membership “does not include anyone who brings the perspective of the people and communities that will be most directly affected,” according to the complaint, which points out that the advisory group “does not include representative voices from civil society…who have long shared DOGE’s stated mission of promoting government efficiency.”
The nonprofits allege that the organization’s staff “not only bring a far too narrow set of perspectives but also have significant financial conflicts and political ties.”
The document points out that DOGE has “taken no steps to insulate DOGE’s recommendations from the personal financial conflicts of its members, including the staggering conflicts of Mr. Musk, whose ‘companies were promised $3 billion across nearly 100 different contracts last year with 17 federal agencies.’”
It also mentions the NHTSA’s investigation into car company Tesla, which Musk owns.
The plaintiffs also take aim at entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who was tapped to co-lead the department. However, recent reports suggest he may no longer be a part of the team. The complaint suggests that Ramaswamy’s pharmaceutical and oil and gas interests could influence the group’s recommendations.
This will likely be the first of many lawsuits against the Trump administration as it seeks to advance the president’s agenda. DOGE, in particular, has received scrutiny over Musk’s involvement and others. Of course, much of the criticism is coming from folks on the left who have never seen a government program they would crawl over burning coals to defend. If the president wants this initiative to be successful, it won’t be easy. Folks on the left are itching to make sure everything Trump does fails.
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