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Fight over Elon Musk’s DOGE records heads to Supreme Court

By
FOX Local
Politics
Published October 13, 2026 1:20 PM MST
Published October 13, 2026 1:20 PM MST
article

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump listen to a question from reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit seeking records from the Department of Government Efficiency.
    • Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had requested records, claiming DOGE was a federal agency.
    • The Trump administration disputed the request, stating that DOGE was a presidential advisory committee.

The Supreme Court agreed to weigh in on a lawsuit filed by a government watchdog that claims records from the Department of Government Efficiency, the federal department created by President Donald Trump and led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, should be public.

Big picture view:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) argues that the department, which is known less formally as DOGE, is a federal agency and, as such, its records are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. 

The Trump administration counters that DOGE is a presidential advisory body and, therefore, exempt from FOIA requests. CREW has sued for access to DOGE records detailing its actions during the first months of Trump’s second term.

The backstory:

The Trump administration appealed the case to the nation’s high court after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in favor of CREW and ordered the federal government to expedite the watchdog’s request. An appeals court later backed the decision. 

RELATED: Americans think Trump prioritizes his wealth more than helping US, poll finds

In June 2025, Supreme Court justices granted an emergency request from the administration, stating at the time that the judge’s order was too broad. According to a Reuters report, CREW responded by removing items from its request, and the D.C. Circuit rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to stop the request, prompting this latest appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Dig deeper:

The Trump administration claims the appellate court did not consider the separation of powers between the judicial and executive branches, as demanded by the justices’ initial ruling. The government’s lawyers added that the request intrudes on the "autonomy and confidentiality" of presidential advisers. 

The other side:

CREW insists DOGE "was wielding enormous independent authority" and the public has a right to know how it operated while overhauling the federal government in 2025. It also pushed back on an administration claim that the appeals court impermissibly let it take a sworn deposition from DOGE acting Administrator Amy Gleason.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Associated Press and Reuters. This story was reported from Orlando.



 

PoliticsSupreme CourtElon MuskU.S.News