(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to take up a case determining whether a court is able to issue sweeping orders against executive advisory bodies, like the Department of Government Efficiency.
Justices on the high court agreed to hear U.S. DOGE Service v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a case challenging a court’s ability to issue sweeping discovery orders against DOGE.
In February 2025, the D.C. District Court allowed a sweeping discovery order to move forward in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against DOGE, which argued that it did not fall under FOIA requirements because it served as an executive advising group, rather than an agency.
The dispute made it to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2025, where justices ruled that the D.C. district court exceeded separation of powers authority in its decision. Since then, watchdog groups narrowed the FOIA lawsuit in an effort to obtain directives from DOGE administrators and gain access to data held by federal agencies.
The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against the watchdog’s lawsuit and define what kinds of orders a court may issue against entities like DOGE that advise the executive branch.
“Allowing the decision below to stand and far-reaching discovery to proceed would sow mischief in countless future cases against high-ranking officials,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in a petition to the high court. “Courts have already been grappling with a surge of improper attempts.”
The watchdog groups, however, argued that justices on the high court should determine whether it is appropriate for DOGE to be shielded from FOIA review. The group said FOIA regulations are meant to apply for all “establishments” within the executive office of the president.
“Under the government’s proposed test, a President wishing to evade FOIA could simply ‘informally delegat[e] authority’ to an entity within the [executive office of the president] by non-public memorandum, or draft intentionally ambiguous executive orders,” lawyers for the watchdog groups wrote.
Justices on the high court will likely hear arguments in the beginning of 2027. A decision in the case is expected by July 2027.
