CREW sues to challenge destruction of CDC FOIA office

The closure of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s entire Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office violates FOIA and the Administrative Procedure Act, according to a lawsuit filed last night by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The CDC must be compelled to comply with the law and to provide the information CREW and other requesters are seeking through their outstanding FOIA requests with the agency. 

This week, as part of DOGE’s efforts to reshape the government, the Department of Health and Human Services began laying off 10,000 employees, which included the entire CDC FOIA office. CREW requested records through FOIA on an expedited basis and received an automatic response stating that the “FOIA office had been placed on admin leave and is unable to respond to any emails.” CREW’s requests seek information related to the shuttering of the office and DOGE’s involvement, as well as records regarding a recent report that the CDC allegedly suppressed an expert assessment about measles vaccination.

Given ongoing outbreaks of measles and other infectious diseases, it is crucial that Americans have transparency into the CDC’s operations and DOGE’s apparent interference in public health agencies. Like every government agency, under FOIA the CDC is required to keep records and turn them over to the public when requested. The CDC has no apparent plans to handle the thousands of FOIA requests it has and will receive, which is a violation of the law.  

In addition to seeking records and compliance with the CDC’s statutory duties under FOIA, CREW is also asking the court to find that the decision to destroy CDC’s FOIA office is both unlawful and arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.