Unions Sue DOGE, Calling It ‘Unbalanced’ For Excluding Opponents Of Efficiency
Four lawsuits were filed in D.C. federal court on Monday challenging the Department of Government Efficiency.
The American Federation of Government Employees, along with two left-wing nonprofits, sued President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget.
The lawsuit said AFGE’s president, Everett Kelley, requested that a representative of the federal employees union be appointed to the cost-cutting panel because AFGE “has a deep knowledge of the federal government.” It complains that Norm Eisen, a far-left lawyer and lawfare practitioner who has tried to thwart Trump, also applied, only to be told that “we have no room in our administration for Democrats.”
The lawsuit claims that DOGE is an advisory committee that should be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which would require it to have members with balanced views, and meetings and materials open to the public. It said the Grace Commission, a Reagan-era cost-cutting panel, was structured under FACA.
Donald Trump has tasked DOGE, led by Elon Musk, with “partnering with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform.”
Also on Monday, the American Federation of Teachers joined the American Public Health Association and four other liberal groups filed a similar lawsuit.
“DOGE does not currently have an individual who will speak on behalf of government workers and their interests,” the suit said. Teachers are employed by local governments, not the federal government, but the AFT has used union dues to pursue a general leftist agenda.
The suit said “FACA requires that any advisory committee, including DOGE, be ‘fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory committee.’ … DOGE’s stacked membership, far from being fairly balanced, reveals that only one viewpoint is represented: that of ‘small-government crusaders.’”
It described cost savings to taxpayers as a “hefty price tag for the American people,” saying it has “a goal of slashing between $500 billion and $2 trillion in federal spending.”
It also challenged secrecy, saying “DOGE’s use of Signal threatens to irreparably deprive Plaintiffs and the American public of records to which they are entitled under FACA.”
In a third lawsuit, National Security Counselors, Inc., which says it “has represented federal employees,” sued DOGE and OMB. It cites media coverage to argue that DOGE is an “advisory committee” and names Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who it says largely make up the entity.
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“Not a single member of DOGE has experience working on matters of national security or representing people who do,” it says. It said Jerald Lentini, a lawyer for a union and the security counselors group, applied for a job at DOGE but never heard back.
His job application said he was “deeply concerned that the D.O.G.E. may be bereft of staff—and leadership—who understand and prioritize the considerations of the civil servant… As a proud member of AFSCME Local 2663, I hope to ensure that these workers’ livelihoods are not capriciously upended by those whose expertise and sympathies lie elsewhere.”
The Center for Biological Diversity sued OMB, saying Biden’s OMB had failed to fulfill a FOIA request for the Trump transition materials about DOGE, and that it has an interest since DOGE could advocate for removing regulations that it says could protect wildlife.
Federal unions, which are invested in keeping the paychecks to government employees flowing, have tried to block Trump’s reforms, make it difficult to fire poor performers, and prevent the president from requiring employees to stop working from home.
Related: Union That Wants Feds To Work From Home Brings Staff Back To Office To Fight Trump