The US Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear the question of whether the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may be required by courts to disclose records on DOGE’s interactions with other federal agencies.

The first question the Court will consider is whether the court of appeals’ order complies with Cheney v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a 2004 Supreme Court case that held that the court of appeals in the case acted prematurely by refusing to consider the executive branch’s separation-of-powers objections to overly broad civil discovery orders. The second question the Court will consider is much broader and arguably consequential:

Whether a court may order broad discovery against an Executive Office advisory body—potentially providing much information sought on the merits of a plaintiffs FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] claims—to determine whether FOIA’s disclosure requirements apply in the first place.

Last year, the US District Court for the District of Columbia found that DOGE is likely covered by the FOIA and that “the public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay in unearthing the records CREW seeks.” It ordered DOGE to process CREW’s request for information about DOGE and its part in “spearheading the mass firings and dramatic disruptions to federal programs that have punctuated the opening weeks of President Trump’s second term.” The court declined to outright order disclosure.

On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit held that CREW was entitled to limited discovery of relevant documents and ordered DOGE to comply with the discovery requests, including deposing certain actors within various federal agencies.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonprofit watchdog organization, sued DOGE last year, arguing that DOGE was failing to produce records pursuant to the Federal Records Act and the FOIA. CREW contests that DOGE, despite being created without congressional authorization, “wields shockingly broad power over all manner of federal functions.” As federal law requires establishments of the executive branch to act transparently, DOGE must disclose its records, according to CREW. Other organizations have waged similar complaints.

The Court is expected to render its decision in June of 2027.