Environmentalists are suing federal agencies, arguing that their so-called DOGE teams violate a law that governs federal advisory committees.
The Center for Biological Diversity on Monday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against five Cabinet-level agencies challenging the work done there by the Elon Musk-led government-downsizing operation known as the “Department of Government Efficiency.”
The environmental group argues that the DOGE teams established inside the agencies are technically “advisory committees” but aren’t complying with the law that governs those panels. The defendants named in the lawsuit include EPA and the departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and Transportation.
Because the DOGE teams likely include a mix of full-time, part-time, volunteer and special government employees, CBD argues, they must comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, or FACA. That law includes requirements for transparency, open public participation and balanced representation of viewpoints.
