The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether President Donald Trump’s administration can withhold records about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from a government watchdog seeking information about its activities.
The justices on Tuesday accepted the administration’s appeal against a lower court ruling requiring DOGE to respond to information requests from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments and deliver a decision by the end of June.
DOGE was established by Trump when he returned to office in January 2025 to reduce federal spending, cut government jobs and restructure public agencies. The initiative was initially led by billionaire Elon Musk, Trump’s former adviser.
In April 2025, US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that DOGE was likely a government agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows the public to request records from federal agencies. He ordered the disclosure of some documents and permitted CREW to question DOGE official Amy Gleason under oath.
The Trump administration argues that DOGE operated as an advisory body to the president and should therefore be exempt from the law. CREW, however, says access to the records is necessary to examine the initiative’s structure, decision making and role in mass dismissals and cuts to federal programmes.
DOGE announced in July 2025 that its formal mission had ended, although questions about its activities and reported savings have continued.
The initiative claimed to have reduced government expenditure by tens of billions of dollars, but independent verification proved difficult. The Government Accountability Office found that some reported savings from cancelled contracts, grants and leases were inaccurate, unsupported or involved terminations already underway before DOGE was established.
In a separate report last month, federal auditors said limited access to information prevented them from assuring Congress and the public that sensitive government systems and data had been adequately protected during DOGE’s work across federal agencies.
The Supreme Court previously intervened in the dispute in June 2025, directing a lower court to narrow its disclosure requirements. The latest appeal follows another ruling by the federal appeals court refusing to block the release of records.
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