Supreme Court Limits Access to Trump’s DOGE Records

The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked lower court orders requiring President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to release records to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), halting discovery into the department's operations and personnel. The court emphasized separation of powers and judicial restraint regarding internal executive branch communications, sending the case back to a lower appeals court for further review. CREW argues DOGE operates as a de facto federal agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), while the Trump administration maintains that DOGE is a presidential advisory body exempt from FOIA. The ruling prevents DOGE's acting administrator, Amy Gleason, from being deposed and limits public access to information about the department, which has been involved in controversial cost-cutting and mass layoffs. Democratic justices dissented, expressing concern over the lack of transparency and the secretive nature of DOGE's operations. The case highlights ongoing legal debates over the transparency of new executive branch entities and their accountability under federal law.