Supreme Court pauses attempt to force DOGE to clarify its role
CNN
—
Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday temporarily paused action in an emergency appeal over whether the Department of Government Efficiency must turn over public documents – like other government agencies – or whether it is shielded from such requests because it is part of the White House.
The case raises fundamental questions about the power and transparency of an entity that has slashed agency budgets and government employees with unusual speed and that has inspired a wave of federal lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Roberts, who handles emergency cases rising from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC, issued an administrative stay intended to halt action for a short period to give the justices time to review the written briefing in the case. As is typically the case with such orders, he did not explain his reasoning.
The emergency appeal from President Donald Trump had requested that the justices halt a lower court order that would allow a government watchdog group to depose DOGE staff to better understand the entity’s role within the federal government, as they argue it should be covered under the transparency law known as the Freedom of Information Act. That underlying request remains pending.
In the appeal, US Solicitor General D. John Sauer described DOGE as a “presidential advisory body” within the White House that is tasked “with providing recommendations” to Trump. Given those advisory functions, Sauer wrote, DOGE is exempt from FOIA requirements.
Requiring deposition of the entity’s leadership, Sauer argued, “will significantly distract from (DOGE’s) mission of identifying and eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government.”
A federal judge ruled in March that DOGE is likely covered by FOIA, which allows the public, interest groups and the media to obtain internal government records detailing agency conduct.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/23/politics/supreme-court-pauses-attempt-to-force-doge-to-clarify-its-role
She even had a REAL ID! How the fuck does that happen?