Yesterday, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee, on which I am privileged to serve, held a public meeting, available on the YouTube channel of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The meeting comprised routine status updates from working subcommittees. But arising as it did amid the Trump/Musk shake-up in federal government, the stream might have drawn more than the usual public interest. The President fired National Archivist Colleen Shogun three weeks ago (see also CBS News), apparently in violation of federal law and with a political logic that's hard to discern, as University of Maryland Professor Jason Baron explained recently in Washington Monthly.
The committee lost one member to the Musk "fork in the road" program; capable attorney Kevin Bell departed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The President last month terminated the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee in the General Services Administration (GSA) (Government Executive).
I am all for eliminating government waste and inefficiency, but I'm worried that "fork in the road" only incentivized the departure from public service of the most talented people, who could get other jobs most readily. And I'm not sure I see the wisdom of terminating an advisory committee, which brings volunteer expertise from the private sector (or state academics, such as Baron, me, and others) to bear on federal government work at minimal cost to taxpayers.
The committee yesterday unanimously approved a motion of Frank LoMonte, CNN senior counsel, to ensure preservation of committee work, as required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). He didn't say so explicitly, but the move seemed pretty well calculated as a hedge against possible termination of the committee's work.
Excellent public comment came from Alex Howard, Digital Democracy Project and former committee member. Logically he inquired, inter alia, about the impact of government "efficiency" cuts and website take-downs on FOIA. Certainly these questions are of great concern to everyone involved; Professor Margaret Kwoka said as much in response. The fact is, simply, I don't think anyone can yet apprehend that big picture.
