Center for Biological Diversity sues Trump administration for DOGE-related interactions
Jan 21, 2025, 7:00 PM
SALT LAKE CITY— On Monday, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The Center is pursuing documentation of the interactions between the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency and the White House in the time between President Trump’s re-election and inauguration.
A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. said that the CBD is concerned Trump’s plan could roll back environmental protection regulations.
“The records at issue include certain presidential transition documents that concern OMB’s key functions and duties, which affect air and water quality; climate change, imperiled plants, and wildlife; public lands; and environmental justice issues. These records are subject to [the Freedom of Information Act], and their relevance is time sensitive,” read the document.
According to the filing, the CBD requested the records on Dec. 9, 2024. According to the complaint, a decision was due on Jan. 10, 2025. The CBD said they never received a decision or any records.
The lawsuit argues that the United States Office of Management and Budget must provide records related to the presidential transition under the Freedom of Information Act.
“Prompt access to these records is necessary to realize FOIA’s purpose of transparency in government operations,” read the complaint.
Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency promise
After his re-election, Trump said he would create the Department of Government Efficiency to cut back “excess” regulations and spending, while also restructuring federal agencies. He appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramsaway to lead it. They were to collaborate with the Office of Management and Budget.
Ramsaway recently announced he is leaving the commission, as reported by the Associated Press.
“Whether it’s Trump or Elon Musk who’s really running the government, we’re a nation of laws and the people have a right to know what Musk and his cronies have been up to during the transition,” said CBD Executive Director Kierán Suckling.
In a press release, the CBD cited an op-ed piece co-written by Musk and Ramsaway. They wrote that DOGE was intended to take power away from “unelected bureaucrats.”
Neither Musk nor Ramsaway were elected to public office.
Published by the Wall Street Journal, the op-ed alleged that “most government enforcement decisions and discretionary expenditures aren’t made by the democratically elected president or even his political appointees.” Instead, they said they are made by “millions of unelected, reappointed civil servants.”
Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress power to establish federal budgets and policies. American voters elect Congress members.
“There should be absolutely no doubt about the damage he’ll inflict if we don’t fight their dangerous agenda,” Suckling said.
Executive order signed
Despite Trump, Musk, and Ramsaway’s claims, the executive order signed by Trump on Monday made no mention of spending or regulation. CBS News reported that the executive order DOGE as an IT service falls under the executive branch.
The signed executive order makes no mention of regulations or spending. Instead, it said it was designed to “moderniz[e] Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
“We know Musk is bullying civil servants and boasting about gutting nearly every legal safeguard that protects Americans, but who knows what sweetheart deals he’s making behind the scenes to enrich himself even further. We’re going to find out and we won’t leave any stone unturned,” Suckling said.
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