Elon Musk makes these comments about DOGE's potential to reduce costs during a live stream with Mark Penn, CEO of Stagwell.
The first lawsuit challenging billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is expected to be filed in federal court within hours of Monday. President Trump swore an oath
A 30-page complaint obtained by Fox Business ahead of the filing accuses DOGE of violating certain public disclosure requirements in federal law. The lawsuit, filed by public interest law firm National Security Counselors, was first reported by The Washington Post.
Trump tasked Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with leading DOGE in an effort to identify government waste, fraud and abuse and advise the White House on how to cut costs. Musk has set an ambitious $2 trillion cost-cutting goal for his nonprofit agency, which is based in SpaceX's D.C. offices and has reportedly held preliminary meetings with representatives of dozens of federal agencies to eradicate waste. output
But the DOGE was not created by Congress and its powers, if any, were not defined. The lawsuit claims that the DOGE should be considered a “federal advisory committee” and therefore, under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), is required to have “relatively balanced” representation, record its meetings and open them to the public. , and send a charter to Congress. It is unclear whether DOGE met these requirements.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy point to Dodge's goals
President Trump tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead an effort to cut federal spending. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“DOGE is not exempt from the requirements of FACA,” the lawsuit states. All DOGE meetings, including those held via electronic media, shall be open to the public.
Musk and the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from FOX Business.
In one of the Wall Street Journal articles, Mask and Ramaswamy The filing noted that DOGE would be “unlike state commissions or advisory committees,” which appeared to indicate that they do not intend their work to be subject to FACA requirements.
Sam Hammond, an economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, which supports DOGE's mission, told The Washington Post that Musk's effort would likely be exempt from FACA requirements because the agency would primarily implement ideas in the executive branch and the White House.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy attend a meeting at the Congressional Visitor Center with House and Senate Republicans to discuss President-elect Trump's “Department of Government Efficiency” on December 5, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
“DOGE is not a federal advisory committee because DOGE doesn't really exist. DOGE is a branding exercise, a summary of the Trump administration's reform efforts,” Hammond said.
However, national security advisers insist that the DOGE meets the legal definition of a federal advisory committee, and that there is no representation on the body for federal bureaucrats whose jobs could be at risk if the proposed cuts to state agencies materialize.
Musk and Ramaswamy unveil the full-time salaried roles Dodge is trying to fill
President-elect Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The complaint lists as lead plaintiffs Gerald Lentini, a local elected official in Connecticut and an attorney with national security advisers who applied to join DOGE, and Joshua Ehrlich, owner of a labor law firm that regularly represents federal employees. Ehrlich also applied to work for DOGE, noting in his application that the organization “currently does not have someone to speak on behalf of government employees and their interests.”
Citing reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post, the list of 17 DOGE affiliates, including Marc Anderson EntrepreneursThank you, Baris Akis and Antonio.
“None of the DOGE members are federal employees or represent the views of federal employees,” the petition states.
Cal McClanahan, executive director of National Security Advisers, said in a statement that FACA has broad bipartisan support and that every American should support DOGE with transparency.
“It's not about sour grapes. It's not people complaining because they haven't been picked. It's people complaining because no one has been picked like them, and therefore no one will be in the room to make sure. DOGE'S VIEWS He understands their criticism, McClenahan said.
“No one is disputing that there is a large amount of wasteful spending in the federal government. Our only concern is that the DOGE, as currently constituted, lacks the expertise to understand how its recommendations would affect federal workers without It would be counterproductive for them to understand why, isn't government work corporate in the first place, and any advice made without this perspective is doomed to failure.