On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington ruled that Trump administration officials must face questioning under oath about the workings of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The lawsuit, filed by government employee unions, seeks to block the secretive cost-cutting department from accessing federal agency systems.
Judge Bates ruled that the unions can question four officials—one from DOGE itself and one each from the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The order did not name the individual officials to be questioned.
The judge is considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction blocking DOGE from accessing agency systems while the unions’ lawsuit proceeds. The depositions, limited to a total of eight hours, must focus on DOGE’s organizational structure, the roles and responsibilities of its employees, the extent of their access to agency systems, and the measures taken to ensure security and privacy.
U.S. Justice Department lawyers had opposed the unions’ deposition request and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bates, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, noted that the government had submitted conflicting information about DOGE’s operations, leaving much about it unclear, including whether it was a formal government agency at all.
“It would be strange to permit defendants to submit evidence that addresses critical factual issues and proceed to rule on a preliminary injunction motion without permitting plaintiffs to explore those factual issues through very limited discovery,” Bates wrote.
DOGE has operated largely in secrecy, with billionaire Elon Musk, an ally of President Donald Trump, serving as the department’s public face and taking credit for its deep cuts to federal agencies. However, Justice Department lawyers have denied in court that Musk leads the department.
Earlier this month, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations sued the Labor Department to block DOGE from accessing the department’s systems, arguing that it could give Musk sensitive information about investigations into his companies. Bates declined to issue a temporary order blocking access at the outset of the case.
The case has since expanded to target other departments and add additional unions as plaintiffs.