Elon Musk’s extra-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) was hit with a lawsuit on Monday, just minutes after Donald Trump’s swearing-in, challenging its operations.

D.O.G.E Lawsuit Shortly After Trump’s Inauguration Sparks Concerns

A lawsuit was filed on Monday against Elon Musk’s extra-governmental advisory group, Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), challenging its operations shortly after Donald Trump’s swearing-in.

The Trump administration created an advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency on day one, with a goal of enacting huge cuts to the U.S. government. The group, led by Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has grandiose goals of restructuring federal agencies and slashing three-quarters of federal government jobs. Pro-crypto biotech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was a co-chair but left to run for Ohio governor.

The now-solely Musk-led advisory organization, named after his favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (DOGE), was hit with a lawsuit minutes after the announcement.

The 30-page suit, lodged by the public interest law firm National Security Counselors, contends that D.O.G.E. is operating illegally as a federal advisory committee. In so doing, D.O.G.E. violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s strict laws on hiring, disclosures, and other matters, as per the complaint.

The Federal Advisory Committee Act calls for all advisory committees to have a list of members that is “fairly balanced in terms of point of view and represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory committee,” in addition to a charter with clear practices and transparent public record processes.

The lawsuit alleges that despite operating as an advisory committee, DOGE does not meet those requirements.

The legal complaint adds:

“DOGE is not exempted from FACA’s requirements […]. All meetings of DOGE, including those conducted through an electronic medium, must be open to the public.”

Blow To Dogecoin Price?

Elon Musk’s involvement in U.S. politics was a welcome sign for meme coin investors since the Department of Government Efficiency shares the same acronym with Dogecoin’s meme coin ticker. Known as the “Dogefather,” Musk's public endorsements of Dogecoin have often sparked price surges.

However, crypto market traders and investors are remaining notably cautious as the DOGE suit unfolds, as such previous legal drama has applied downward pressure on prices. For instance, in the Ripple vs. SEC case, the XRP cryptocurrency remained in a bear market for years before finally breaking out above the psychologically important $3 mark in 2025.

The upsurge came after reports that former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler was resigning and amid heightened optimism ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Hence, Dogecoin’s much-anticipated meteoric upsurge in 2025 may encounter obstacles as the lawsuit against Musk’s D.O.G.E. could negatively impact market sentiment.

At the time of writing, the crypto industry's largest and oldest meme coin is trading at $0.3684, down around 1.0% over the past 24 hours amid a sharp crypto-wide market downturn as Trump’s inauguration fails to buoy prices.