Press Releases

Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding DOGE stop lying to the American people and start providing clear answers about its operations. The request follows Elon Musk and the Trump Administration’s repeated refusal to respond to basic congressional oversight requests regarding DOGE’s activities, Republicans’ refusal to join Democrats on the House Oversight Committee to subpoena Mr. Musk to appear before Congress, and Musk’s refusal to meet with Congressional Democrats.

“In public, President Trump has repeatedly praised the broad powers of DOGE under Elon Musk. As recently as the joint address to Congress, he boasted: ‘I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it, which is headed by Elon Musk.’ Later that same week, President Trump warned his cabinet secretaries that ‘Elon and the group are gonna be watching them,’ and that if they failed to make the significant staffing cuts demanded by DOGE, ‘Elon will do the cutting.’ Yet, in court, the Trump Administration has been telling judges an entirely different story,” wrote Ranking Members Raskin and Connolly in their FOIA to DOGE.

In their detailed three-part FOIA request, Ranking Members Raskin and Connolly press for details on who really is in charge at DOGE, the scope of its authority to shutter federal agencies and get rid of more than 100,000 federal employees, the extent of its access to the government’s most sensitive databases, and whether DOGE is serving the interests of the American people or the interests of Mr. Musk’s companies and his foreign customers.

“We are citizens of a strong democracy and not subjects of an oligarchical techno-state. Like Joe Biden before him, Donald Trump was elected President and not king. By filing 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. The President, Mr. Musk, and DOGE can and will be held accountable to the American people, the original and ultimate source of all sovereign power in the United States of America,” concluded the Ranking Members.

This week also marks the start of the 21st Annual Sunshine Week, dedicated to increasing transparency and accountability at all levels of the federal government. Under FOIA, every American has the right to demand transparency and accountability from our government by filing a request for government records. In sending this letter, the Ranking Members are exercising their right, as citizens, to demand that Trump, Musk, and DOGE stop their shell game and come clean about their activities.

Click here to read the FOIA request.

Click here to read the letter to DOGE.