Multiple groups filed lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hours after Monday’s inauguration, urging a federal court to enforce Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requirements on the newly formed administrative panel.

Filed by the American Public Health Association, American Federation of Teachers, Minority Veterans of America, VoteVets Action Fund, Center for Auto Safety, Inc., and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, one of the lawsuits voiced concerns about DOGE’s potential influence over the incoming administration, considering the department’s lack of congressional oversight and its ties to the private sector:

DOGE is… a shadow operation led by unelected billionaires who stand to reap huge financial rewards from this influence and access. Despite these conflicts of interest, DOGE is slated to dictate federal policy in ways that will affect millions of Americans… It is doing so under a shroud of secrecy with none of the transparency, oversight, or opportunity for public participation the law requires.

Another suit, filed by National Security Counselors, raised similar concerns about DOGE’s legal status and transparency, arguing the department has not complied with FACA’s filing, public notice, and fair balance requirements. A third suit–filed by Public Citizen, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and the American Federation of Government Employees–also alleged that DOGE violates FACA.

To address these concerns, advocacy groups pleaded the federal court to enjoin DOGE operations, to make its records public, and to bar the Trump administration from accepting committee recommendations until it is brought in compliance with FACA.

During his campaign, Trump tapped business moguls Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the then-proposed advisory committee. In November, Musk and Ramaswamy published a joint Wall Street Journal article, wherein they advocated for streamlined government operations through vast cuts to administrative agencies:

President Trump has asked the two of us… to cut the federal government down to size. The entrenched and ever-growing bureaucracy represents an existential threat to our republic, and politicians have abetted it for too long. That’s why we’re doing things differently. We are entrepreneurs, not politicians.

While instrumental during its inception, Ramaswamy is now expected to step away from DOGE to run for governor of Ohio.

Congress passed FACA in 1972 “to ensure that the public has knowledge of” advisory committee operations. FACA requires these committees to be chartered and that membership “be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory committee.”