Two top House Democrats on Tuesday filed a demand for access to information at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, citing a “troubling” lack of transparency.
The ranking members of the powerful House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), have banded together to push back against Musk’s influence in the federal government as DOGE works to slash spending, disband agencies, and lay off federal workers.
Raskin and Connolly filed a Freedom of Information Act request to demand “clear answers” about DOGE operations, citing the agency’s “repeated refusal to respond to basic congressional oversight requests regarding DOGE’s activities.” Republicans on the Oversight Committee have not sided with Democrats in their efforts to subpoena Musk, the billionaire businessman from SpaceX, Tesla, and X, to have him appear before Congress.
“We are citizens of a strong democracy and not subjects of an oligarchical techno-state,” Raskin and Connolly wrote in a press release. “Like Joe Biden before him, Donald Trump was elected President and not king. By filling these FOIA requests, which every American has the right to make in order to demand transparency from our government, we demand to know about DOGE’S leadership structure, legal authority, and potential conflicts of interest; its involvement with the government-wide firing of personnel; and its treatment of sensitive data and AI.”
Outrage swept the country when DOGE sparked the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal workers and counting since President Donald Trump took office almost two months ago. Musk’s aggressive agenda includes reducing the government workforce and budget slashing as the nation’s debt and deficit have ballooned.
Musk and the Trump administration have been met with lawsuits claiming the billionaire’s overreach when accessing guarded government data, which includes sensitive information about the public. Concern has also been raised around Musk’s power over the departments and whether Cabinet secretaries have the final say in decision-making.
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The 1967 Freedom of Information Act allows any citizen to request public government information under a FOIA request. Federal agencies are required to disclose documents and emails requested unless they fall under an exemption that protects personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.
The Trump administration has insisted that DOGE is not subject to FOIA laws as part of the White House but rather covered by the Presidential Records Act, which puts restrictions on access to records until a president leaves office. However, a federal court this month ruled that DOGE is subject to FOIA requests.
The White House stood by its FOIA exemption stance when asked by the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, with an official saying, “DOGE is a component of the White House and not subject to FOIA, only PRA.”
The 15-page FOIA request filed by Raskin and Connolly looks for information such as who is in charge of DOGE, the scope of its power to dismantle agencies, the extent of its access to data, and text and email messages from staff.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) did not respond to a request for comment on the FOIA. However, DOGE operates an account on X, Musk’s social media platform, that regularly posts updates on its findings and contract canceling activity.