DOGE faces immediate lawsuits

Business & Economy

The Big Story

Trump's DOGE slapped with lawsuits on first day in office

Within moments of President Trump being sworn in, his new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) was hit with multiple lawsuits before his ceremony concluded.

The three lawsuits, filed in D.C.’s federal district court, alleges DOGE doesn’t comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

The challenges seek to block DOGE from coordinating with the new administration, as they have pledged ambitious plans to cut $2 trillion in government spending and restructure federal agencies.

The cases were led by progressive consumer watchdog Public Citizen, the American Public Health Association and National Security Counselors, a public interest law firm.

The plaintiffs claim DOGE is covered by FACA, which mandates federal advisory committees meet transparency requirements like having a charter, fairly balanced membership and a designated federal officer to call meetings.

“DOGE’s stacked membership, far from being fairly balanced, reveals that only one viewpoint is represented: that of ‘small-government crusaders’ with backgrounds in either the tech industry or Republican politics,” the National Security Counselors’s lawsuit states.

“This shortcoming renders DOGE’s membership imbalanced and unfit for the function it has been directed to perform.”

The Hill's Zach Schonfeld has more here.

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Tax Watch

Trump takes office, kicking off tax fight

Welcome to Tax Watch, a new feature in The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter focused on the fight over tax reform and the push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year.

Each day we'll analyze the latest signals on tax reform and what lawmakers in the House and Senate plan to do — and how it could affect President Trump's signature first-term achievement.

This feature will also track the influence campaigns — from business, lobbying shops and more — aimed squarely at congressional Republicans who are in the driver seat this year to implement sweeping tax changes and extensions.

Trump's inauguration officially opens the gates on what is expected to be a flurry of activity on taxes in the 47th president's first 100 days.

The president is awaiting the confirmation of Scott Bessent, his pick for Treasury secretary, who will play a crucial role in advancing Trump’s tax agenda through Congress.

During his confirmation hearing last week before the Senate Finance Committee, Bessent implored lawmakers to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Trump’s 2017 tax-cut law, before key provisions expire at the end of this year.

But the new Trump administration is facing fractures among Republican lawmakers as to how they should proceed.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) has urged his colleagues to include tax provisions in their first major legislative package, which they plan to advance through budget reconciliation.

But top Senate Republicans prefer to start with a package focused on immigration and energy policies — two areas of broad agreement within the GOP that could result in an early legislative win — before moving to a separate tax bill.

Stick with us as the fight unfolds!

— Sylvan Lane and Jesse Byrnes

The Ticker

Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent on Tuesday morning at 10:15 a.m. ET.

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