Elon Musk and once-ousted Trump administration member Vivek Ramaswamy will see a lawsuit filed against their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) today.
Ramaswamy is supposed to be co-leading the agency alongside Musk yet was “privately undercut” in his pre-DOGE work and “has worn out his welcome” from the team, according to CBS sources.
Adding to the chaotic formation of DOGE today, a law firm has already prepared litigation questioning the legality of the organization itself.
Needless to say, Ramaswamy isn’t happy that Musk and other members of Trump’s team shoved him aside from his high-profile role in the incoming presidential administration. He boasted encouragingly this morning about his dubious cooperation with Musk.
The newly-formed DOGE — which is distinct from the memecoin — claims to not be a Federal Advisory Committee and is therefore exempt from Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) regulations. Public interest law firm National Security Counselors disagrees, saying Musk’s organization is breaking that 1972 law which requires federal advisory committees to file public disclosures.
DOGE and the Federal Advisory Committee Act
According to a draft of the lawsuit that lawyers intend to file immediately upon Trump’s signature, describing DOGE as a non-governmental “panel” is semantic wordplay and ignores the reality of its formation and responsibilities.
The co-plaintiffs, Jerald Lentini and Joshua Erlich, have personal grievances with Musk’s new group. The two attorneys had applied to join DOGE and received no response. The lawsuit names Trump and Musk as co-defendants.
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Lentini and Erlich allege that DOGE violates FACA and its “clearly defined purpose” for a federal advisory committee. FACA also requires that an advisory committee’s membership remain balanced in views and functions, keeps minutes, allows public attendance, and files a charter with Congress.
Musk once claimed that, despite not being a federal advisory committee, DOGE would somehow advise the federal government [sic] on how to save “at least $2 trillion.”
