Trump to Supreme Court: Please Don’t Let Anyone See What Elon Musk Is Doing

A watchdog group wants answers about layoffs, grant cuts, and Elon Musk’s role in Trump’s shadow agency. The administration wants it buried.

If there’s one thing the Trump administration hates more than accountability, it’s sunlight. Especially when it comes to the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—Elon Musk’s shady gang of hackers stealing our data from government agencies.

Now, the administration is asking the Supreme Court to shut the whole thing down. Not the program—just the public’s right to know anything about it.

On Wednesday, Solicitor General John Sauer filed an emergency appeal with the Court, begging them to block a federal judge’s order that would force DOGE to hand over records to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The documents could reveal how DOGE has been firing people, terminating grants, and making policy decisions across the federal government—all while hiding behind the claim that they’re “just giving advice.”

And it gets even weirder.

Sauer also wants to stop the deposition of Amy Gleason, the woman the White House eventually named as DOGE’s administrator after weeks of pretending the program ran itself. Even though Trump bragged that Elon Musk was leading the charge, it took more than a month to identify Gleason—who remains largely unknown outside of FOIA lawsuits and government staff directories.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about paperwork. This is about how power actually works inside Trump’s second-term government—and how a secretive group, allegedly overseen by a billionaire tech CEO, has been handed the keys to restructure the federal workforce.

A Government Agency in Name Only?

DOGE has been operating under the radar since the start of Trump’s second term. Officials say it’s “advisory only.” But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper isn’t buying it.

In a string of rulings since March, Cooper found that DOGE’s influence goes way beyond advice. From ordering layoffs to terminating grants and taking over agency budgets, DOGE appears to have its hands on the controls—making it subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which mandates public access to records of federal agencies.

That’s why Cooper ordered DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to start handing over documents. He also greenlit discovery, allowing CREW to dig deeper into how DOGE actually functions—including a chance to question Gleason under oath.

Sauer’s argument? That letting this happen would violate the separation of powers and chill confidential advice to the president.

Translation: If we tell the public what we’re doing, we might get in trouble for doing it.

A Pattern of Secrecy

This case is just one of many where Trump’s team has rushed to the Supreme Court to try to bury bad news. In fact, it’s already the second DOGE-related emergency appeal in less than four months. The first one? An attempt to give DOGE access to sensitive Social Security data—because apparently nothing says “efficiency” like letting Elon Musk peek into your disability file.

DOGE operatives have already been blocked by courts from accessing major federal systems, including:

• The U.S. Treasury

• The Social Security Administration

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• The U.S. Agency for International Development

Just this week, a judge also ruled that DOGE’s hostile takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace was illegal and had to be reversed. So much for peace through privatization.

And yet, details about DOGE’s operations remain maddeningly vague. Who runs it day to day? Who approves its budget? What exactly is Amy Gleason’s job? Why was Elon Musk—whose hobbies include posting racist memes and tanking Tesla stock—given any role in federal governance?

So far, the administration’s best defense has been: “Don’t worry, we’re not technically in charge.” But Judge Cooper and other federal courts are calling that bluff.

The Stakes

Here’s the real kicker: the Trump administration placed DOGE within the Executive Office of the President, a move likely intended to shield it from public scrutiny. Some White House offices, like OMB, have been ruled subject to FOIA. Others haven’t. DOGE is trying to land on the “others” list.

If the Supreme Court agrees with Sauer’s appeal, it could delay DOGE-related disclosures for a year or more—until at least June 2026. And by then, it’s entirely possible the group will have gutted half the government while hiding behind red tape and billionaires.

CREW isn’t backing down. “While DOGE continues to attempt to fight transparency at every level of justice,” said spokesperson Jordan Libowitz, “we look forward to making our case that the Supreme Court should join the District Court and Court of Appeals in allowing discovery to go forward.”

Because if DOGE really is just “advising,” they shouldn’t be afraid of a few questions under oath…right?

Right?