Trump White House urges Supreme Court to shield Musk’s Doge from transparency orders

The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the US Supreme Court to block court orders requiring Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to turn over documents about its operations to a government watchdog group.

The Justice Department’s latest emergency appeal to the high court concerns whether Doge, which has been central to President Donald Trump’s push to remake the government, is a federal agency that is subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The administration argues Doge is merely a presidential advisory body that is exempt from requests for documents under the act.

The administration wants the justices to freeze orders that would force Doge to turn over documents to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and have acting Doge administrator Amy Gleason answer questions under oath within the next three weeks. CREW sued in February, claiming that Doge “wields shockingly broad power” with no transparency about its actions.

In March, US District Judge Christopher Cooper found that Doge’s role is likely more than just advisory, noting its claims in helping to close USAID and cut billions of dollars in government contracts.

“Cancelling any government contract would seem to require substantial authority – and cancelling them on this scale certainly does,” Cooper wrote.