Trump terminates US Open Government Federal Advisory Committee

[Alexander Howard]

Hello all —

Sorry for any crossposting. It was surprising to many people when the Trump administration announced it would draft a new plan for the Open Government Partnership in 2017, but they did so in 2018. 

They released a weak plan that reflected existing programs and priorities & stoppped engaging with civil society in 2020, but the U.S. government continued to participate and support the global multistakeholder initiative the USA co-founded in 2011. 

OGP was part of delivering on the missions of State Department and USAID to nurture good governance and fight corruption with dedicated diplomacy, development, and support for democracy internationally, even as the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations failed to invest the necessary time, attention, resources, and state capacity to build back broken trust with the American people domestically.

The termination of the U.S. Open Government Advisory Committee today is disappointing, but it is far from unexpected given the unprecedented actions the Trump administration has taken to date.

Even if a Trump White House again publicly commits to co-creating a new plan with the American people and delivering on transformative commitments to government transparency, accountability, participation, and collaboration, their actions to date have spoken far louder than words.

One month into office, the Trump White House isn’t disclosing visitor logs, ethics waivers, financial records, or presidential tax returns. They are unconstitutionally blocking the AP. 

A long, dark, and growing record of opacity, secrecy, and deception shows the new Press Secretary’s claim that they are the “most transparent & accessible White House in history” is false. 

In just four short weeks, the American people and the world has seen widespread gag orders, website censorship, and data takedowns, dismissals of inspectors general and ethics watchdogs, illegal firing of the Director of OSC, and the termination of the Archivist and deputy archivists. The Justice Department hust removed a law enforcement accountability database that was a core commitment to the 5th National Action Plan.

The dissolution of an advisory committee dedicated to improving government transparency and accountability in the United States government is as clear an indicator of illiberalism as one can find. 

There is no positive way to interpret terminating the advisory committee the GSA chartered to support the development of a sixth U.S. national action plan for open government in a multi-stakeholder forum. 

That step was recommended by OGP and requested by U.S. civil society organizations since the creation of the initiative in 2011. Its dissolution is a harbinger of worse to come.

2025 is not 2018 or 2020 or 2022, when the U.S. government acted “contrary to process” without sanction from the Open Government Partnership. 

The Steering Committee & Secretariat should respond by 

1) placing the United States under review immediately

2) bring up a emergency motion to suspend the USA and remove it from the OGP steering committee if the GSA Secretariat is dissolved and funding for OGP is cut. 

OGP, member nations, and cities can no longer afford to let any of the founding countries use the Partnership to openwash their records. 

They must publicly hold the U.S. government accountable when their actions merit sanction, despite the diplomatic and financial consequences of doing so.

Statements of support for U.S. civil society actors and organizations must be followed by action if the Trump administration continues its actins to shift the default position of the federal government from open to opaque to secretive. 

With gratitude for everyone fighting for freedom of information, against corruption, and delivering  government accountability around the world,

Alexander B. Howard

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Daniel Schuman <dan...@americalabs.org>
Date: Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Subject: Trump terminates open government federal advisory committee

Hi everyone,

I just received an email that Trump has terminated the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee.

My statement is below, at this link, and on Bluesky.

Daniel

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Daniel Schuman 

Executive Director | American Governance Institute

dan...@americalabs.org | 202/577-6100

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Trump Attacks Open Government

GSA Terminates Open Government Federal Advisory Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Daniel Schuman, American Governance Institute

Dan...@americalabs.org | 202-577-6100

February 25, 2025

Washington, DC – Today the General Services Administration terminated the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee. 

"The Trump Administration's war on open and accountable government claimed another casualty: the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee," said Daniel Schuman, president of the American Governance Institute and former Chair of the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee. "The Open Government Federal Advisory Committee's mission was to provide expert advice to the U.S. government on adopting plans to create a more open and accountable government, but that conflicted with the Trump administration's mission of tearing down our democratic government."

The Open Government Federal Advisory Committee consisted of 15 government and non-governmental experts on transparency from across the nation. It was established in the fall of 2024 as part of a decades-long effort for the United States to fulfill the commitments of the Open Government Partnership, a multinational collaboration to promote open government in the U.S. and around the world. 

"My concerns about open government are not unique to the Trump administration, but the Trump administration is a unique threat to our democracy," said Daniel Schuman. 

The United States also has not paid its 2025 dues to the Open Government Partnership.

"The United States should be thrown out of the Open Government Partnership and all countries should join in condemning the United States for democratic backsliding," said Schuman. "Open and accountable government is essential for democracy and it is no surprise the Trump administration singled it out for attack. I call upon Congress to enact legislation to re-establish the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee and make it independent of the White House's political whims. Thank you to the hardworking public servants at the General Services Administration who labored hard to support our work and to push for a more open and accountable democracy."

Per the website, the mission of the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee is:

[It] serves as an advisory body to the GSA Administrator on federal open government and public engagement efforts. This includes developing U.S. National Action Plans, efforts to increase the public’s access to data, engage the public in the regulatory process, make government records more accessible, and improve the delivery of government services and benefits. The FAC also advises on open government themes such as access to information, anti-corruption, civic space, digital governance, fiscal openness, media freedom, public participation, and improving the delivery of government services and benefits.

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