Latest news with #CREW
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US Supreme Court keeps DOGE records blocked in watchdog group's challenge
By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court extended on Friday its block on judicial orders requiring the Department of Government Efficiency to turn over records to a government watchdog group that sought details on the entity established by President Donald Trump and previously spearheaded by his billionaire former adviser Elon Musk. The court put on hold Washington-based U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper's orders for DOGE to respond to requests by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington for information about its operations. The judge concluded that DOGE likely is a government agency covered by the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The brief, unsigned order said that portions of one of the judge's decisions "are not appropriately tailored" and that "separation of powers concerns counsel judicial deference and restraint in the context of discovery regarding internal Executive Branch communications." The court sent the case back to a lower appeals court to narrow the judge's directives. The court's three liberal justices - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson - dissented from Friday's decision. In a separate case, the Supreme Court on Friday permitted DOGE broad access to personal information on millions of Americans in Social Security Administration data systems while a legal challenge plays out. DOGE has played a central role in Trump's efforts to downsize and reshape the U.S. government including by slashing the federal workforce and dismantling certain agencies. The watchdog group, called CREW, said its intention was to shed light on what it called DOGE's secretive structure and operations. Musk formally ended his government work on May 30 and his once-close relationship with Trump has since unraveled publicly, a split that followed Musk's recent attacks on the president's sweeping tax and spending bill and played out dramatically on social media on Thursday. CREW sued to obtain an array of records from DOGE through the FOIA statute, a law that allows the public to seek access to records produced by government agencies. It sought information on DOGE's activities over its role in the mass firings and cuts to federal programs pursued since the Republican president returned to office in January. "While we're obviously disappointed that the Supreme Court chose to revise aspects of our discovery requests, we're pleased that the court allowed discovery to proceed," said CREW spokesperson Jordan Libowitz after Friday's decision. Prior to Friday's order, Chief Justice John Roberts had imposed a temporary pause on Cooper's orders to give the court more time to consider the dispute. The Trump administration contends that DOGE is an advisory entity and not subject to FOIA. In response, CREW sought information to determine whether DOGE is subject to FOIA because it wields the kind of authority of an agency independent of the president. Cooper ruled in April that DOGE must turn over some records sought by CREW and that the group was entitled to question DOGE official Amy Gleason at a deposition. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined on May 14 to put Cooper's order on hold. The administration urged the Supreme Court to act, saying that the judge's orders intruded on the powers of the executive branch and compromised the ability of a wide array of advisers to provide candid and confidential advice to the president. CREW told the justices that siding with the administration in the dispute would give the president "free reign" to create new entities that would "functionally wield substantial independent authority but are exempt from critical transparency laws." In one of his decisions, Cooper said DOGE's operations have been marked by "unusual secrecy." In another, the judge said that the language of Trump's executive orders concerning DOGE suggests that it is "exercising substantial independent authority."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court limits outside access to DOGE records
The Supreme Court has reined in a lower-court order that allowed a watchdog group wide-ranging access to records of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. The high court's majority said a judge's directive allowing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to examine DOGE's recommendations for cost savings at executive branch agencies was 'not appropriately tailored.' In a two-page order Friday, the Supreme Court said such access was not a proper way to resolve an ongoing dispute about whether DOGE is a federal agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act or operates as a presidential advisory body that does not have to share its records with the public. 'Separation of powers concerns counsel judicial deference and restraint in the context of discovery regarding internal Executive Branch communications,' the court's majority wrote. All three of the court's liberal justices indicated they disagreed with the decision, but none provided an explanation of her views. The court's action amounted to a partial victory for the Trump administration, which filed an emergency appeal in an effort to avoid complying with orders from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who is overseeing CREW's lawsuit. However, the high court's order appears to leave the door open for CREW to seek records and take testimony about DOGE's structure and authority. The Trump administration has insisted that the DOGE team simply makes recommendations to agency officials, who have the final decision on budget and staff cuts. However, Cooper said there were strong indications that DOGE's recommendations were routinely approved wholesale, suggesting they were more like orders than suggestions.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
John Roberts Personally Delivers DOGE Win for Trump
Chief Justice John Roberts has personally shielded the Department of Government Efficiency from having to hand over reams of internal data. Acting as an individual, Roberts temporarily blocked two orders from a lower court that instructed DOGE to turn over thousands of pages of documents and have its administrator, Amy Gleason, sit for a deposition. The emergency stay only required Robert's approval, not the entire Supreme Court's, as he is the justice who handles these requests when they arise out of the Washington, D.C., courts. The stay is temporary, likely only to last a few days. It allows the court time to decide whether it wants to consider the case on its merits and make a ruling. The question at stake in the case is whether DOGE has to fulfill public information requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The case hinges on whether the group, which has been led by Elon Musk, is a government agency. The Trump administration has argued that DOGE is merely an advisory group to President Donald Trump and therefore does not have to hand over its data. However, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the watchdog group that brought the suit, claims that DOGE has acted as its own agency. Under Musk and Trump's direction, DOGE led a push to remake the federal government according to the administration's goals. This entailed firing thousands of federal workers, blowing up entire agencies, seizing control of crucial government systems, and reversing federal spending decisions. While Musk touted his operation as 'maximally transparent,' DOGE has fought hard in court to avoid having to reveal its inner workings to the public. The lower court's ruling was intended to allow limited discovery—that is, the documents and the deposition—to help determine whether DOGE is an agency. Solicitor General D. John Sauer has complained that the ruling is unfair because it gives CREW access to DOGE's internal data without actually deciding the case in their favor. 'That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies,' Sauer said. After Roberts' decision, CREW told Axios that the outcome was not a surprise and that it still expected to win the case. 'We hope to see the Court decide on the merits of the government's petition after the holiday weekend,' the organization said in a statement.
Boston Globe
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Chief Justice Roberts agrees to pause court orders requiring DOGE to turn over records about its operation
But the Trump administration says DOGE is just a presidential advisory body aimed at rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, which would make it exempt from requests for documents under FOIA. CREW sued in February, claiming that DOGE 'wields shockingly broad power' with no transparency about its actions. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found that its role is likely more than just advisory, noting claims in helping to shutter USAID and cut billions of dollars in government contracts. Advertisement Cooper had ordered DOGE to turn over documents and have acting DOGE administrator Amy Gleason answer questions under oath by June 13. Solicitor General D. John Sauer called Cooper's orders 'extraordinarily overbroad and intrusive.' The case is the latest in a string of emergency appeals taken to the Supreme Court after lower courts have blocked parts of Trump's sweeping agenda.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chief Justice Roberts temporarily halts discovery in DOGE case
Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily halted discovery Friday in a lawsuit seeking access to documents and information about the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) operations. In a brief order, Roberts granted the government's request for an administrative stay, which temporarily lifts a judge's order allowing limited discovery into whether DOGE is an 'agency.' If it is found to be an agency, that would make DOGE subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The request went to Roberts by default; he handles emergency appeals arising from the nation's capital. The pause will last until the court decides whether to wipe two lower court rulings letting discovery move forward, which Roberts could himself decide or refer to the full court. Solicitor General D. John Sauer had argued in the government's emergency application that DOGE is not an agency. Instead, it's a 'presidential advisory body' housed within the Executive Office of the President, he said. He suggested that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an appointee of former President Obama, ordered DOGE to submit to 'sweeping, intrusive' discovery just to determine if it is, in fact, subject to FOIA, which lets the public request information from the government. Cooper's order allowed discovery about DOGE employees and all 'recommendations' it has made to various agencies, in addition to other internal documents. He also ordered a deposition of acting DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason. 'That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies,' Sauer said. The government appealed to the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled last week that the discovery process could proceed. The discovery request comes in a lawsuit brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which claims the public has a right to know about DOGE's 'secretive operations.' It's one of several lawsuits designed to test whether DOGE must respond to FOIA requests. In response to the government's request, CREW lawyer Nikhel Sus wrote in a brief to the court that Sauer's emergency application made clear the administration is seeking from the justices a ruling on the merits as to whether DOGE is an agency. 'At issue here is a far narrower antecedent question: whether the court of appeals clearly and indisputably erred in refusing to disturb a district court order allowing limited discovery to ascertain DOGE's agency status,' Sus wrote. The face of DOGE for months was billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who was appointed as a special government employee when President Trump took office. However, he has since signaled he plans to step back. Dozens of other lawsuits have been filed challenging DOGE's access to agencies' internal records and systems. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
