Trump administration sued four times over Elon Musk’s DOGE on Inauguration Day
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The Department of Government Efficiency is expected to slash federal spending through mass firings and budget cuts. President Donald Trump’s hours-old administration has already been sued at least four times over the Department of Government Efficiency.
![[Musk is set to lead the department, promising large budget cuts and mass firings of federal employees]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/15/2194351043.jpg)
DOGE, which was announced by Trump soon after he won office, is designed to slash federal spending through budget cuts and firings. The department is currently co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (who is reportedly departing his position and launching a bid for Ohio governor).
![[Donald Trump is expected to swiftly execute many of his top policy priorities within his first day of office through executive orders]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/17/SEI236695603.jpg)
The lawsuits were filed against the new administration on Monday as Trump was sworn in for his second term in the White House. Three of the lawsuits argue DOGE is not a government department, but rather an advisory committee. As a result, the lawsuits argue, the Trump administration has violated a federal transparency law called the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
The lawsuits argue DOGE has not met these requirements. “DOGE is not exempted from FACA’s requirements,” according to one of the lawsuits filed by the public interest law firm National Security Counselors. “All meetings of DOGE, including those conducted through an electronic medium, must be open to the public.”.
Should Trump sign the order, it would be among the 200 executive orders he is expected to issue within his first day of office. It’s unclear what exactly will happen to these lawsuits if the order is signed. “If the Trump administration changes the structure of DOGE to be a government office, that would potentially moot the case,” McClanahan told the outlet. “But that would subject Musk and others to a whole bunch of ethics laws I don’t think they want to be subject to.”.
