Case: Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Office of Management and Budget

On April 13, 2026, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Center submitted five Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to OMB seeking calendars and schedules of high-ranking officials, including Director Russell Vought, General Counsel Mark Paoletta, former Acting Administrator Jeffrey Clark, former Director Stuart Levenbach, and approximately 45 Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) career civil servants. The Center sought these records to track actions by these officials to review, delay, revise, and rescind environmental protections, particularly in connection with regulatory rollbacks during the Trump Administration and large-scale workforce reductions. According to the complaint, OMB failed to respond to these requests within FOIA's statutory deadlines, with some requests dating back to March 2025. OMB allegedly provided estimated completion times of 36-48 months for some requests. The Center brought three claims under FOIA: that OMB failed to comply with mandatory determination deadlines, failed to conduct an adequate search for responsive records, and failed to promptly disclose all responsive records. The Center sought declaratory and injunctive relief requiring OMB to immediately make determinations on the FOIA requests, conduct proper searches, and produce all nonexempt responsive records, as well as attorneys' fees and costs.

This case is ongoing