Judge backs Musk government efficiency team

 DC Daily Journal:

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In a major victory for government accountability, a federal judge in Washington on Friday denied a desperate attempt by unions and Left-wing nonprofits to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing critical records from three federal agencies.

The unions, backed by the usual activist crowd, tried to stop DOGE from obtaining records from the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — agencies long known for their bloated bureaucracies and cozy ties to Democrat power players.
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U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with the government’s classification of DOGE as a federal agency, allowing it to deploy its staff to other departments to root out waste.

But Bates acknowledged the government’s shifting stance, calling it a “close question” and noting the hypocrisy of Democrats’ legal arguments. While the government wanted DOGE to count as an agency to limit its powers, they also wanted to dodge transparency laws that would open their own actions to scrutiny.

In his ruling, Bates criticized the double standard: “DOGE was a ‘Goldilocks entity: not an agency when it is burdensome but an agency when it is convenient.'”

“Plaintiffs have not shown a substantial likelihood that [DOGE] is not an agency. If that is so, [DOGE] may detail its employees to other agencies consistent with the Economy Act,” he wrote.

DOGE, created by executive order as a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s reelection promises, is on a mission to cut through wasteful spending and government inefficiency. The temporary agency, reporting directly to the White House chief of staff, has 18 months to overhaul federal operations — something the bloated D.C. establishment clearly fears.
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It is telling that many on the left oppose government efficiency even though the team has already uncovered the waste of billions of dollars on programs that accomplish little or nothing.   Those opposing access to records should make Americans question the agenda of the opposition to disclosure.