By Andrew Chung
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily paused judicial orders requiring the Department of Government Efficiency, established by President Donald Trump and spearheaded by his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, to turn over records and answer questions in the coming days and weeks concerning its operations.
The court put on hold Washington-based U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s orders for DOGE to respond to a government watchdog group’s requests for information after finding that DOGE likely is a government agency covered by the federal Freedom of Information Act.
The Supreme Court’s action, called an administrative stay, gives it additional time to consider the Justice Department’s formal request to block Cooper’s order while litigation proceeds in a lower court.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued, seeking an array of records from DOGE through the FOIA statute, a law that allows the public to seek access to records produced by government agencies.
The group sought information on DOGE’s activities over its role in the mass firings and cuts to federal programs pursued after the Republican president returned to office in January.
The Trump administration contends that DOGE is an advisory entity and not subject to FOIA. In response, CREW sought information to determine whether DOGE is subject to FOIA because it wields the kind of authority of an agency independent of the president.
Cooper ruled in April that DOGE had to turn over some records sought by CREW and was entitled to question DOGE’s Acting Administrator Amy Gleason at a deposition. A federal appeals court declined on May 14 to put Cooper’s order on hold.
The administration urged the Supreme Court to act, saying that the judge’s orders intrude on the powers of the executive branch and compromise the ability of a wide array of advisers to provide candid, confidential advice to the president.
In one of his decisions, Cooper said DOGE’s operations have been marked by "unusual secrecy." In another, the judge said the language of Trump’s executive orders concerning DOGE suggests that it is "exercising substantial independent authority."