A lawsuit is set to be filed against President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency just minutes after he is sworn into office.
Plaintiffs argue in the 30-page lawsuit, obtained by the Washington Post, that the Elon Musk-led advisory committee is in violation of federal transparency rules outlined in the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Under this law, federal advisory committees, which the plaintiffs argue that the DOGE is, are required to hold public meetings, and many other requirements the group has appeared not to take action on.
National Security Counselors, the public interest law firm behind the lawsuit, will argue that the DOGE is failing to adhere to certain hiring practices — it has already hired dozens of employees — and other rules of disclosure.
“DOGE is not exempted from FACA’s requirements,” National Security Counselors Executive Director Kel McClanahan wrote. “All meetings of DOGE, including those conducted through an electronic medium, must be open to the public.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jerald Lentini, a local elected official in Connecticut and an attorney for National Security Counselors, and Joshua Erlich, who owns an employment law firm that regularly represents federal employees. Both of them sent applications to join the DOGE, stating they were applying because the DOGE “does not currently have an individual who will speak on behalf of government workers and their interests,” according to the lawsuit. Their applications were disregarded.
“Not a single member of DOGE is a federal employee or represents the perspective of federal employees,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks to bar Musk, his co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy, and “all of DOGE’s subunits” from engaging in an official capacity until they comply with the FACA.
“We’re not trying to say DOGE can’t exist,” McClanahan said in a statement to the Washington Post. “Advisory committees like DOGE have been around for decades. We’re just saying that DOGE can’t exist without following the law. If DOGE turns around and complies with FACA, the case is over.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
However, Sam Hammond, senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, said the DOGE is exempt from FACA requirements because it is only working within the executive branch and White House, which do not have to follow FACA requirements.
“DOGE isn’t a federal advisory committee because DOGE doesn’t really exist,” Hammond said. “DOGE is a branding exercise, a shorthand for Trump’s government reform efforts.”