A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to release its records publicly, citing the “unusual secrecy” and “unprecedented” authority with which it operates.
In a 37-page ruling on Monday, US District Judge Christopher Cooper instructed DOGE to release information in response to three Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from a nonprofit. The requests were aimed at uncovering more about the agency’s role in “leading the mass firings and major disruptions to federal programs.”
Judge Cooper stated that the public would be harmed by further delays in releasing the requested information. He ordered DOGE to start providing the records right away, in stages if needed.
This is the first significant legal ruling to push for more transparency about DOGE’s operations. Cooper’s decision largely relied on news reports and public statements from Musk and President Donald Trump.
Judge Cooper noted that DOGE has shown a strong level of control over many areas of the federal government. He mentioned that the agency appears to have easy access to federal IT systems, which allows it to act quickly.
However, he also emphasized that the speed of DOGE’s actions requires quick transparency about the agency’s structure and activities.
Since President Trump took office, DOGE’s mission has been to cut government spending, aiming for greater efficiency. As part of this, it has canceled many USAID programs and laid off thousands of federal employees.
In February, data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that federal job cuts reached 172,017 — the highest monthly total since the pandemic caused mass layoffs in 2020.
DOGE claims it has saved $105 billion so far, though these numbers are unclear, as some reports from the agency have shown the savings to be lower than initially reported.
Judge Cooper expressed concerns about DOGE’s lack of transparency, mentioning how the agency operates with “unusual secrecy.” He referred to news stories, including one from The New York Times, which reported that DOGE employees were using auto-deleting messaging apps like Signal.
He also noted that the authority DOGE has over the federal government and the drastic cuts it has made without input from Congress seem unprecedented.
As part of his ruling, Cooper ordered DOGE to preserve any records that might be relevant to the nonprofit’s FOIA requests.
The nonprofit, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is focused on ensuring government transparency and ethics.
On Monday, CREW’s executive director, Donald Sherman, expressed gratitude for the ruling, saying, “Now more than ever, Americans deserve transparency in their government. Despite efforts and claims to the contrary, the government cannot hide the actions of the US DOGE Service.”
Representatives from DOGE and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider outside of regular business hours.
