Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent lettersto 24 federal agencies exposing the Trump Administration for eliminating staff responsible for facilitating Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and jeopardizing the American people’s right to access federal agency information.
“Recent reporting indicates that Trump Administration has terminated a number of officials responsible for handling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The elimination of staff responsible for facilitating FOIA is the latest effort by this Administration to conceal its flagrant violations of the law and prevent the public from obtaining the information about their government that they are entitled to request. I urge you to provide detailed information responsive to the requests included in this letter to bring sunshine to the FOIA operations within the Trump Administration,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly.
Under FOIA, every American has the right to demand transparency and accountability from our government by filing a request for government records. Since its enactment in 1967, it has been crucial to ensuring government transparencyand accountability.
“The press and the public have recently used the FOIA process to seek records related to the President’s clandestine Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). FOIA requests on DOGE range from information requests regarding the basic structure, budget, and leadership of the organization to whether DOGE employees with access to sensitive or classified government networks have the requisite security clearances and whether these clearances were granted following national security protocol. This Administration’s efforts to dismantle agencies, impound congressionally appropriated funds, and unlawfully terminate civil servants have been rapid and capricious. Now more than ever, maintaining transparency about the operations of government agencies and officials is crucial to enforcing accountability for ongoing abuses of power.”
In the letters, the Ranking Member Connolly underscores that the Trump Administration is not upholding its legal obligation to process FOIA requests. According toreports, the Office of Personnel Management responded to a request for DOGE related records from CNN with an email stating: “Good luck with that they just got rid of the entire privacy team.”
“Preserving your agency’s ability to respond to FOIA requests is a critical tool to provide the American people the transparency to which they are entitled,” concluded Ranking Member Connolly.
Ranking Member Connolly asked for compliance with his requests for documents and information not later than April 3, 2025.
Click here to read the letters to 24 federal agencies.
