CREW requests records on DOGE

In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy slated to lead it. DOGE was created to “pave the way for [Trump’s] administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

However, it remains unclear how DOGE is or will be constituted, how it is or will be funded, whether it will be an official governmental body and in which branch of government it may sit. Despite these uncertainties, since the announcement, Musk and Ramaswamy have continued to make statements about DOGE and its priorities and a social media account purportedly belonging to DOGE has been posting about the group’s plans, giving the impression that they and others have already begun work on its behalf.

In December 2024, CREW requested records from 62 government agencies, agency components, and agency inspectors general pertaining to any communications that Musk, Ramaswamy, or other individuals reportedly involved in DOGE, Antonio Gracias, William (Bill) McGinley and Steve Davis, had with agency employees, as well as any communications between the agencies and any individuals acting on on their behalves. The requests also seek records pertaining to anyone who has an association with DOGE or the so-called “Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency” Caucus, a group established within Congress which plans to collaborate with DOGE. The agencies CREW requested records from include the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FEMA, the EPA, the FDA, the IRS and others.

Only Congress has the authority to create a new federal agency, and it is unclear what ethics and transparency standards, if any, Musk, Ramaswamy and others affiliated with DOGE are being held to. The public deserves to know more about how those involved with DOGE are communicating with federal agencies and employees.