The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review a dispute involving access to records that could shed light on the early actions of the U.S. DOGE Service, which overhauled the federal government during the opening months of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Read more Trump to fly 3,400 miles to Alaska in hopes of saving a Senate seat
The high court’s acceptance of the case means it will probably be argued early next year.
The case centers on efforts by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a watchdog group, to obtain records from DOGE’s early operations through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The legal challenge centers on the crucial question of what DOGE actually was. The administration says DOGE was an advisory body to the president, while CREW says it was an agency with independent authority. The former is generally shielded from public records requests.
Read more Hillary Clinton and Kara Swisher to release weekly midterms podcast
DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency, was led by billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump ally, before the two men had an explosive, albeit temporary, falling-out.
The Supreme Court will examine how much evidence DOGE must produce regarding the question of its exact role. The Trump administration argues that information is privileged, while CREW says it is critical to advancing the public’s knowledge of DOGE’s actions.
The issue has wended its way through the courts, even reaching the Supreme Court on an interim basis last year. The high court directed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to narrow how much evidence had to be produced in the case.
Read more After heated hearing, judge orders Trump officials to testify about tree removal
