- Three lawsuits have been filed against the Musk-led DOGE agency
- According to a lawsuit, DOGE violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) agency reportedly had three lawsuits filed against it within minutes of President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
In a 30-page lawsuit, obtained by The Washington Post, public interest law firm National Security Counselors questions the legality of the agency Trump said he’d create to “dismantle government bureaucracy.”
According to the complaint, DOGE violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires advisory committees to follow certain rules, including allowing public involvement.
National Security Counselors state that DOGE meets the requirements to be considered a “federal advisory committee.” Yet, while similar agencies follow a “fairly balanced” representation, keep meeting records, and allow public involvement, as required by law, DOGE doesn’t.
The lawsuit, written by Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, reads:
“DOGE is not exempted from FACA’s requirements. All meetings of DOGE, including those conducted through an electronic medium, must be open to the public.”
Along with Musk, Trump appointed biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE; however, Ramaswamy is expected to step aside to focus on running for governor of Ohio, according to a report from Politico.
DOGE has, reportedly, already hired dozens of people who work out of Musk’s SpaceX offices in Washington DC.
The two other lawsuits were filed by a group that includes the American Federation of Government Employees and the State Democracy Defenders Fund. In another case, the plaintiffs are the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the American Federation of Teachers.
Cutting important programs
Despite its name, DOGE isn’t a department of the US government.
Even so, the agency aims to provide advice and guidance outside of the US government and to work with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget as they “drive out the massive waste and fraud” within the $6.5 trillion federal budget.
Following Trump’s election win in November, he said in a post on Trust Social that Musk and Ramaswamy will “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the ‘Save America’ movement.”
In a post on X, Musk said all actions of DOGE “will be posted online for maximum transparency.”
According to Ambassador Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, DOGE isn’t about getting rid of redundant staff, “this is about billionaires gutting important programs that American citizens across the country rely on every single day without adequate transparency or accountability.”
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