President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was sued multiple times before his inauguration ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda concluded.
In the moments after Trump’s swearing-in, three lawsuits were filed in Washington, D.C.’s federal district court alleging DOGE’s setup doesn’t comply with Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
The cases were led by progressive consumer watchdog Public Citizen, the American Public Health Association and National Security Counselors, a public interest law firm. They seek to block co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy from moving forward or coordinating with the new administration.
Musk and Ramaswamy have pledged ambitious plans to cut $2 trillion government spending and restructure federal agencies, though Ramaswamy is also planning to run for Ohio governor.
The three cases were some of the first lawsuits filed against the new Trump administration after the president took the oath of office in the Capitol.
Trump has vowed to sign dozens of executive orders later in the day, which could also quickly spark a wave of litigation.
The plaintiffs each claim DOGE is covered by FACA, which mandates federal advisory committees meet transparency requirements like having a charter, fairly balanced membership and a designated federal officer to call meetings.
“DOGE’s stacked membership, far from being fairly balanced, reveals that only one viewpoint is represented: that of ‘small-government crusaders’ with backgrounds in either the tech industry or Republican politics. This shortcoming renders DOGE’s membership imbalanced and unfit for the function is has been directed to perform,” the National Security Counselors’ lawsuit states.
The other plaintiffs include unions such as the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of Teachers, progressive veterans advocacy group VoteVets Action Fund, and left-leaning watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
In a fourth lawsuit, the Center for Biological Diversity has asked a federal judge for access to public records showing how members of DOGE have interacted with the White House since the transition began.
