'Clears this bar easily': Trump-appointed judge allows lawsuit challenging FOIA office closure to move forward

The Trump administration connected Tuesday suffered a setback successful its efforts to shutter a antecedently expansive bureau dedicated to processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

In a 31-page memorandum opinion, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his archetypal term, denied the government's question to disregard the suit primitively filed by Citizens for Responsibility successful Washington (CREW), a nonpartisan nonprofit authorities watchdog group.

In April 2025, CREW sued the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), arsenic good arsenic apical officials astatine each agency, implicit the FOIA bureau closure. Next, CREW asked for injunctive alleviation — successful the signifier of forcing the agencies to delegate "sufficient unit and resources" to respond to FOIA requests successful a timely mode and mostly support the bureau operative.

In June 2025, Kelly denied the plaintiff's petition for injunctive relief, Law&Crime antecedently reported. As the case continued, CREW and HHS agreed to enactment motions connected 1 taxable of dispute, efficaciously whittling down the litigation successful August 2025.

Now, connected cross-motions for summary judgement and the government's dismissal bid, the tribunal has issued a double-edged ruling, denying some motions for summary judgement portion granting successful portion and denying successful portion the question to dismiss. This effect whittles down yet different CREW number filed nether the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and sets the signifier for a proceedings connected the lone remaining number determination down the line.

"CREW has stated a FOIA assertion upon which alleviation tin beryllium granted successful Count II, and truthful volition contradict Defendants' question to disregard connected that count," the sentiment reads. "But connected this record, the Court agrees with neither side's petition for summary judgement connected Count II. Thus, it volition contradict without prejudice some parties' summary judgement motions connected that count. And arsenic for Count III, the Court agrees with Defendants and volition disregard CREW's APA assertion for nonaccomplishment to authorities a claim."

In its question to dismiss, the authorities aimed to kneecap the nonprofit by arguing it lacked lasting to sue. In work of this argument, the Department of Justice said CREW failed to enactment a assertion astir the alleged FOIA "reading-room provision," wherein an bureau provides a carnal determination for the nationalist to reappraisal records. Similarly, the DOJ says CREW did not afloat soma retired a related assertion astir the CDC denying entree to definite "research data."

And, the authorities adds, successful immoderate event, determination is not a judicial remedy disposable for CREW present owed to precedent connected the matter.

That argument, Kelly observes, misses the people entirely.

"Defendants misread CREW's amended complaint," the sentiment goes on, noting that the reading-room allegation was lone made to bolster the group's "overarching claim" that "eliminating the CDC FOIA office" amounts to a "policy oregon signifier of violating FOIA."

"CREW has lasting to bring this claim, arsenic it has suffered informational wounded caused by the closure of the CDC FOIA bureau successful respective ways (as explained above), and its wounded tin beryllium redressed successful immoderate mode by the Court nether the FOIA statute, which affords courts the authorization to manner 'broad' and 'flexible' equitable remedies," the sentiment continues. "So adjacent assuming the Court could not supply abstracted redress…that would not decision CREW's lasting to bring its alleged policy-or-practice FOIA claim."

On the merits of CREW's FOIA claim, the authorities fared nary better.

The DOJ, taking a wide swing, argued the nonprofit simply failed to authorities a claim. Kelly rejected this statement retired of hand.

"The Court finds that CREW has stated a FOIA claim," the sentiment reads.

The tribunal explains that FOIA instrumentality allows plaintiffs to writer "over much than an agency's effect to a circumstantial petition for records."

That is, well-settled instrumentality successful the D.C. Circuit says that speech from challenging immoderate fixed agency's circumstantial effect to immoderate party's circumstantial request, a plaintiff whitethorn bring "a assertion that an bureau argumentation oregon signifier volition impair the party's lawful entree to accusation successful the future." An indispensable facet of specified a suit is that the plaintiff indispensable besides plead that the agency's argumentation oregon signifier "results successful a repeated usurpation of FOIA."

And, Kelly says, CREW has alleged capable specified facts for their assertion to past – astatine slightest astatine this juncture successful the litigation.

From the opinion, astatine length:

CREW has sufficiently pled some elements of a policy-or-practice claim. First, CREW identifies a factual policy: that Defendants person "eliminat[ed] the CDC FOIA bureau and . . . shift[ed] each its responsibilities to the OS [the Office of the HHS Secretary] FOIA office." To beryllium sure, this is not a singular argumentation truthful overmuch arsenic it is simply a operation of actions taken by Defendants astatine the bureau level, including the archetypal April 1, 2025 simplification successful CDC FOIA staff, arsenic good arsenic aboriginal reconfigurations of however HHS electronically routes FOIA requests. But the contours of the argumentation oregon signifier request not beryllium sharply "articulated successful regulations oregon an authoritative connection of policy."

"Defendants' wholesale bureau closure and routing each CDC FOIA requests to OS FOIA satisfies this requirement, and Defendants bash not—and could not—argue otherwise," Kelly writes.

The justice further determined that CREW "plausibly" alleged the CDC FOIA bureau closure "has violated and volition proceed to interruption respective FOIA requirements" owed to a deficiency of nationalist inspection of CDC records, failures to marque "reasonable efforts to search" for those records, and nonaccomplishment to marque specified records "promptly available."

"CREW clears this barroom easily," the sentiment continues. "It alleges that aft the closure, respective of its FOIA requests to HHS went unanswered for months, that different organizations that filed FOIA requests astatine the clip were likewise 'stonewall[ed],' that the CDC has ceased updating its online FOIA portal and reading-room web page, and that OS FOIA does not person the staff, resources, oregon expertise to process each FOIA requests made to the HHS."

At this stage, the tribunal says, those allegations inure to the plaintiff's payment — and the authorities has done thing to beryllium otherwise.

"[T]he Court finds that CREW has plausibly alleged that closing the CDC FOIA bureau and consequent rerouting volition effect successful repeated violations of astatine slightest immoderate of FOIA's statutory requirements." the sentiment reads.

Far from settling the lawsuit, Kelly's lengthy sentiment besides directed the parties to record a associated presumption study outlining however they privation to proceed. That filing is owed connected April 28.