The first lawsuit challenging billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) was expected to be filed in federal court just hours later on Monday. President Trump took the oath of office.

A 30-page complaint obtained by Fox Business ahead of its filing accuses DOGE of violating certain public disclosure requirements of federal law. The lawsuit, filed by the public interest law firm National Security Counselors, was first reported by the Washington Post.

Trump tasked Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with leading DOGE in a quest to identify government waste, fraud and abuse and advise the White House on how to cut spending. Musk has set an ambitious goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts for his non-government agency, which has been working out of his company SpaceX’s D.C. offices and has reportedly held preliminary meetings with representatives of dozens of federal agencies to dispose of the waste, according to the outlet.

But DOGE was not established by Congress and its powers, if any, are undefined. The lawsuit alleges that DOGE should be considered a “federal advisory committee” and therefore the law known as the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requires it to have “fairly balanced” representation, records the their meetings and open them to the public. , and present a letter to Congress. It is not clear that DOGE meets these requirements.

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President Trump tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead an effort to cut federal spending. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“DOGE is not exempt from the requirements of FACA,” the lawsuit states. “All meetings of the DOGE, including those held through an electronic means, must be open to the public.”

Musk and Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from FOX Business.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy wrote that DOGE would be “(not) like government commissions or advisory committees,” appearing to indicate that they do not intend their work to be subject to FACA requirements, the lawsuit notes.

Economist Sam Hammond of the Foundation for American Innovation, which supports DOGE’s mission, told the Washington Post that Musk’s effort is likely to be exempt from FACA requirements because the agency will primarily implement ideas within the executive branch and the White House.

ELON MUSK SAYS DOGE WILL ‘TRY’ TO ACHIEVE ITS $2Q GOAL IN CUTS, BUT ADMITS THEY COULD BE COURSE.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy head to a meeting at the Capitol Visitor Center with House and Senate Republicans to discuss then-President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” on December 5, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

“DOGE is not a federal advisory committee because DOGE doesn’t really exist. DOGE is a branding exercise, shorthand for the Trump administration’s reform efforts,” Hammond said.

However, Homeland Security advisers insist that DOGE fits the legal definition of a federal advisory committee and that there is no representation on the body for federal bureaucrats whose jobs could be jeopardized if make proposed cuts to government agencies.

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Then-President-elect Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The lawsuit includes as lead co-plaintiffs Jerald Lentini, a local Connecticut elected official and attorney for national security advisers who applied to join DOGE, and Joshua Erlich, owner of an employment law firm that regularly represents federal employees. Erlich also applied to work for DOGE, noting in his application that the agency “currently does not have a person who speaks on behalf of government workers and their interests,” the lawsuit states.

Citing reports in the New York Times and the Washington Post, the lawsuit lists 17 people affiliated with DOGE, including entrepreneurs Marc AndreessenBaris Akis and Antonio Thank you.

“Not a single member of DOGE is a federal employee or represents the perspective of federal employees,” the lawsuit notes.

Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Advisors, said in a statement that FACA has broad bipartisan support and that all Americans should support DOGE operating transparently.

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“This isn’t about sour grapes. This isn’t people suing because it wasn’t picked. This is people suing because no one like them was picked, and as a result, no one will be in the room to make sure for DOGE to understand the critical perspectives it would provide,” McClanahan said.

“No one disputes that there is a lot of wasteful spending in the federal government. Our only concern is that DOGE, as currently constituted, does not have the experience to understand how its recommendations will backfire if it fires federal workers without understanding why there is, in the first place, government work is not business work, and any recommendation made without that perspective is doomed to failure.”