Christopher Schuler, christopher.schuler@sierraclub.org
Oakland, CA — The Sierra Club has filed another lawsuit against the Trump Administration after its Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, failed to provide materials in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the organization. The lawsuit is part of the Sierra Club’s robust FOIA accountability effort, which aims to shine a light on the corruption and devastating and dangerous actions being taken by the Trump administration across government agencies.
On July 2, 2025, the Sierra Club requested records from U.S. DOGE Service—previously known as the United States Digital Service—including communications between DOGE senior staff members and people connected with the fossil fuel industry, corporate polluters, and other industry groups. The request specifically sought communications with known DOGE staffers who had direct ties to industries regulated by agencies that DOGE targeted for budgeting and staffing cuts. For example, Elon Musk, who led DOGE until May, oversaw its significant cuts to multiple agencies which were actively investigating Mr. Musk’s own companies.
Established on the first day of Trump’s presidency via executive order, DOGE has made major, unprecedented changes to the federal government, including firing or laying off thousands of federal employees and proposing $160 billion in cuts to the federal budget. Some estimates say its cuts to USAID alone could lead to 14 million deaths. Meanwhile, DOGE staff have accessed the offices of at least 15 executive branch agencies and gained access to sensitive information at various agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. These actions have brought devastating consequences to federal workers and everyday Americans, and the public deserves to know who is influencing the cuts being driven by DOGE, particularly when so many senior staff members have known affiliations with special interest groups and with Elon Musk’s companies.
“With a stroke of a pen, Donald Trump created a sham government agency that was never authorized by Congress,” said Joya Manjur, an attorney with Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program. “Over the course of nine months, DOGE has cut critical government work and decimated federal funding for programs the public relies on. Until we know who is influencing DOGE decision-making and to what extent, it will be impossible to truly understand the level of corruption behind the agency’s actions and to hold DOGE staff accountable for what they are doing.”
The Sierra Club has also filed lawsuits against the Department of Transportation for withholding records on their unlawful funding freeze and external communications records; the Department of Energy for failing to respond to FOIA requests for external communications records; the Office of Management and Budget for failing to respond to three Freedom of Information Act requests which seek OMB’s records and communications related to freezing Congressionally appropriated funding and communications between key OMB and DOGE staff with external parties; and the Department of the Interior for failing to respond to requests on external communications for key Interior staff, including Secretary Doug Burgum, acting assistant secretaries, and designated DOGE staff.
The Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program has filed numerous FOIA requests throughout the current Trump Administration, receiving documents about funding freezes, agency terminations and vacancies of critical staff, as well as companies requesting presidential exemptions to avoid air pollution regulations.
During Trump’s first Administration, the Sierra Club’s ELP FOIA work was crucial in exposing numerous scandals. Most notably, the Sierra Club’s efforts helped lead to the resignation of Trump’s first EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.