A government ethics watchdog group implored a federal judge to order the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to produce records responsive to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by next week, arguing that information on the “black box agency” and its operations are vital for Congress and the general public before the current continuing resolution expires next week.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed the lawsuit against DOGE last month, accusing the pseudo-agency of unlawfully refusing to comply with its FOIA requests for records associated with the government group’s actions and ignoring repeated demands for DOGE to preserve its records under the Federal Records Act.

CREW requested expedited records and documents related to communications between Office of Management and Budget (OMB) staffers and individuals who were affiliated with DOGE prior to Trump’s inauguration, changes to the operations of the U.S. Digital Service, organizational charts and financial disclosures, and DOGE’s communications with federal agencies, which DOGE and the other plaintiffs have so far failed to turn over.

The Trump administration responded to the litigation by claiming that DOGE was not subject to FOIA laws due to the president’s designation of the entity as a “free-standing component of the Executive Office of the President.”

FOIA allows the public to obtain non-exempt information from executive branch agencies and departments that do not function “solely to advise and assist the President.”

Appearing before U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper on Friday, attorneys representing CREW asserted that it would suffer irreparable harm if the document request was not fulfilled by next week. The organization further asserted that based on news reports, the government’s own public statements, and DOGE’s own publications, it clearly wielded more than advisory authority.

CREW’s attorney argued that members of Congress lacked sufficient information on DOGE, its organizational structure, funding, and the agency’s authority before they could vote on funding the government on March 14.

“The nature of the influence DOGE has been wielding is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” CREW’s attorney told the court. “This newly formed, unscrutinized, black box agency is directing other agencies what to do and what not to do. They’re instructing agencies to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars in cancelled contracts and the firing of thousands of federal workers.”

ARCATA, Calif.— The Bureau of Land Management will continue fuels reduction work in the King Range National Conservation Area to reduce the risk of wildfire and restore forest health. The work will begin in September and continue until February 2025. Work will occur along King Peak Road and the Paradise Royal Mountain Bike Trail.

Drivers could expect delays along King Peak Road and could encounter project work along trails.

“This project is aimed at improving fire resilience and forest health,” said King Range NCA Manager Paul Sever. “We are asking anyone visiting the area to be patient as this critical work is completed.”

On King Peak Road and connecting roads, crews will be cutting small trees and moving the material to a chipper on the roadway in a six-mile-long work area about two miles from the community of Shelter Cove. Along the Paradise Royale Mountain Bike Trail, crews will be cutting and piling material away from the trail along the entirety of the trail.

The project is part of an ongoing project funded by a Cal Fire forest health grant. More information is available from the King Range office in Whitethorn by calling 707-986-5400, or by contacting the BLM Arcata Field Office, 707-825-2300.