Trump’s Declaration Allows Musk’s Efficiency Team to Skirt Open Records Laws
Government watchdog groups say they will challenge the Trump administration’s decision to put the initiative under the Presidential Records Act, which shields its work from public disclosure.
By Minho Kim, NY Times, Feb. 10, 2025
In October, Elon Musk preached the message of government transparency during a presidential campaign rally he held in Pennsylvania in support of Donald J. Trump, suggesting that nearly all government records should be made public.
“There should be no need for FOIA requests,” Mr. Musk reiterated on social media, referring to the law that gives the public the right to obtain copies of federal agency records: the Freedom of Information Act. “All government data should be default public for maximum transparency.”
But Mr. Musk's cost-cutting initiative, better known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, appears to be heading in the opposite direction.
The White House has designated Mr. Musk’s office, United States DOGE Service, as an entity insulated from public records requests or most judicial intervention until at least 2034, by declaring the documents it produces and receives presidential records.
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For an in-depth discussion of the relevant case law, see David Cohen, Note, FOIA in the Executive Office of the President, 21 N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Policy 203 (2018).