The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is at the center of a new lawsuit filed against the White House-directed group and some Trump administration officials on April 23 alleging violations of Federal record keeping and transparency rules.
The suit filed by the nonprofit American Oversight in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims that since its creation DOGE has obstructed “the most basic information” about its operations and leadership amid “repeated, systemic failures to preserve and produce records” required by the Federal Records Act (FRA) and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The FRA mandates the preservation of government records, while FOIA grants the public access to those records with the aim of ensuring transparency and accountability in Federal agencies.
In addition to DOGE, officials named in the suit include: White House advisor Elon Musk; Amy Gleason – who was named acting administrator of DOGE by the Trump administration; Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his capacity as acting head of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); and Steve Davis, who has reportedly aided Musk in running some of DOGE’s operations.
“Since January 20, 2025, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency
has operated at breakneck speed to overhaul and diminish the Executive Branch of the federal government, all while operating largely in secrecy,” reads the suit filed by American Oversight.
The suit follows numerous questions posed by lawmakers and lawsuits filed opposing DOGE’s activities including its alleged access to, and mis-use of, Americans’ personal data held by various Federal agencies.
Questions also persist about who leads DOGE after a White House official said while under oath in February that Elon Musk – the supposed DOGE chief – wasn’t the one leading the agency.
According to the suit, DOGE allegedly uses technology platforms that violate record-keeping obligations and lack sufficient security to ensure “public records are not being wrongfully destroyed” – such as Signal and Google Docs.
Signal and Google Docs both contain features that delete messages sent through their internal chat functions, the nonprofit said.
American Oversight said it has submitted over two dozen FOIA requests to DOGE since Jan. 20, and that DOGE has failed to provide Federal records in response to those requests including Signal and Slack messages that “have already been removed or destroyed or may soon be.”
One such request detailed by the watchdog group includes a request for documented communications sent by officials and those made on the behalf of DOGE using certain keywords, and that “DOGE has not acknowledged receipt of this request nor otherwise communicated about this request with American Oversight.”
Based on the group’s assertion of numerous violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and FOIA rules, American Oversight is requesting that the court order DOGE and officials to comply with the law.
Also named in the suit are the Office of Management and Budget, the White House, and NARA.