Hiding What Our Government Is Doing

Donald Trump ran for president promising the most transparent administration ever. And the White House claims it is exactly that is exactly what has been provided.

How then to explain the notice posted yesterday, Aug. 14, in the Federal Register, the official government rule change book, proposing to throw out all existing Freedom of Information Act requests unless the requester renews their request?

The proposed new rule drew a stiff response yesterday from the libertarian Cato Institute, which said the proposed new rule is “facially unlawful.”

I agree. I rarely embrace Cato’s perspective on public issues, but here its analysis is spot on.

You can be sure that the largest group of FOIA requesters—big corporations and trade groups—will renew because they have a clear business interest. One of the unexpected results of the FOIA law is corporations using requests to find out what competitors, and regulators, are up to. Citizens and journalists are less likely to meet the proposed new re-request rule.

This proposed new rule is part of a piece in which the Trump Administration 2.0 has displayed sophistication in turning away answers to questions it doesn’t like, hiding information, and generally working to create the most opaque administration in history.


https://www.dcreport.org/2025/08/15/hiding-what-our-government-is-doing/