DOGE Orders Employees to Stop Using Slack as Agency Aims for More Secrecy: Report

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ordered employees to ditch Slack while legal teams scramble to transition DOGE into a classification that shields its records from public scrutiny.

"Please refrain from using Slack at the moment while our various general counsels figure out the best way to handle the records migration to our new EOP (Executive Office of the President) component," stated an internal message obtained by 404 Media. "Will update as soon as we have more information!"

Another communication confirmed that DOGE, formerly the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), would no longer be under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

"Because of the USDS split from OMB, OMB is asking us to stop generating new Slack messages starting now," the message read. "We expect this to be a temporary pause, and we expect to continue having access to historical Slack material."

This restructuring move could limit public access to agency records. While DOGE previously operated under OMB, making its communications subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the shift to the Executive Office of the President (EOP) means it could now be classified under the Presidential Records Act. This would delay public access to its records until after Trump's term rather than allowing real-time transparency.

"Just changing the name alone under the Executive Order doesn't affect DOGE's recordkeeping status," said Jason R. Baron, professor at the University of Maryland and former director of litigation at the National Archives. "The administration apparently has made a determination that DOGE will be a presidential component subject to the Presidential Records Act. However, that will surely be challenged in the courts."

Lauren Harper, of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, suggests the restructuring is intended to limit oversight.

"Does Musk think that placing DOGE within the government will make it easier to hide its records? If so, let's prove that troubling assumption wrong," Harper wrote in a blog post.

Although internal DOGE records may face restrictions, interactions with external agencies remain subject to FOIA requests. Lawsuits challenging DOGE's new classification are already underway. Experts anticipate further battles over transparency requirements in the coming months.