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By Alia Shoaib
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President Donald Trump's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, was due to face a lawsuit within minutes of Trump being sworn in at his inauguration on Monday.
In the complaint seen by Newsweek, public interest law firm National Security Counselors argue that the department violates federal transparency rules.
"Nobody disputes that there is a huge amount of wasteful spending in the federal government. Our only concern is that DOGE, as it is currently constituted, lacks the expertise to understand how its recommendations will backfire if it pushes federal workers out without understanding why they are there in the first place," Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, told Newsweek in an emailed statement.
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"Government work is not corporate work, and any recommendations made without that perspective are doomed to fail," he said.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team for comment via email on Monday.
Why It Matters
Trump tapped Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead the department, which aims to increase government efficiency by identifying regulations and spending programs for the government to cut.
Concerns have been raised about DOGE's transparency and accountability, as it is not a governmental department and will therefore operate outside of traditional government frameworks. This lawsuit aims to question that.
What To Know
The 30-page complaint argues that DOGE, which is a proposed presidential advisory commission, should be classified as a "federal advisory committee" under the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
This classification would require DOGE to follow rules ensuring transparency, accountability and balanced representation.
Musk and Ramaswamy previously said that they would "serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees."
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The complaint names nine defendants, including individuals Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy.
It also names official bodies including the department itself, the executive office of the president and the Office of Management and Budget.
The complaint alleges that based on public information about 17 people who have been hired to work with DOGE, none represent the perspective of federal employees, unions, or accountability and transparency advocates.
If DOGE was classified as a "federal advisory committee," this unrepresentative selection would mean it was in violation of FACA.
"DOGE's stacked membership, far from being fairly balanced, reveals that only one viewpoint is represented: that of 'small-government crusaders' with backgrounds in either the tech industry or Republican politics," the complaint notes, quoting Musk and Ramaswamy's description of who they seek to hire.
The plaintiffs in the complaint include two individuals who applied to join DOGE while stating their intention to provide representation for government workers, but received no response.
The complaint also argues that Trump, along with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, have "an inappropriate degree of influence on DOGE," further raising concerns about its compliance with FACA.
What People Are Saying
Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "This is not about sour grapes. This is not people suing because they were not picked. This is people suing because nobody like them was picked, and as a result nobody will be in the room to make sure DOGE understands the critical perspectives they would provide."
What Happens Next
The National Security Counselors said they planned to file the lawsuit within minutes of Trump being sworn in at his inauguration.
The lawsuit will then likely proceed through the federal courts, where a judge will determine whether DOGE qualifies as a federal advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
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