WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed a novel lawsuit against the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to defend the President’s constitutional authority to remove executive officers. This marks the first challenge to GAO’s unconstitutional overreach and is part of AFL’s broader effort to protect the Executive Branch’s powers from legal challenges seeking to obstruct its constitutional authority.
This lawsuit arises from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request AFL filed to provide transparency into operations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). GAO denied AFL’s request, claiming that “as an agency responsible to the Congress, GAO is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.”
In July 2024, AFL appealed GAO’s denial, thoroughly outlining why GAO is subject to FOIA. In August 2024, GAO again denied the appeal, insisting that it is not subject to FOIA. This lawsuit seeks to settle this issue.
AFL’s lawsuit asserts that GAO is indeed an “executive agency,” as it is headed by executive officers and exercises executive powers. Because GAO is an “executive agency” under 5 U.S.C. § 105, AFL argues that GAO is both an “authority of the Government of the United States” and an “establishment in the executive branch” under 5 U.S.C. §§ 551(1)(A), 552(f)(1).
Accordingly, AFL asserts that GAO is, therefore, an executive agency subject to FOIA. AFL will always demand transparency from all governmental powers for the interest of the American people.
Statement from Dan Epstein, America First Legal Vice President:
“FOIA exists to ensure that unelected bureaucrats are subject to some form of public accountability. Today’s GAO is not the same as it was at its establishment. It audits federal contractors, adjudicates bid protests, and can independently enforce subpoenas in federal court. Unlike Congress, GAO can do all of this unilaterally without a single vote. And, relevant to the handful of cases challenging the President’s firings, the GAO is headed by a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed Comptroller General under a statute that unconstitutionally limits the President’s power to fire,” said Dan Epstein.
Read the lawsuit here.
Follow us on social media for the latest updates on America First Legal’s fight to protect your constitutional rights!
X, Facebook, Instagram, Truth Social, YouTube
For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].
Photo credit: Adobe Stock Images/Orhan Cam
