The legal battle also tested the extent to which small groups of legislators have the legal standing to sue federal agencies in order to enforce laws pertaining to obtaining information.
Initially, the GSA rejected multiple requests by the Democrats, stating that individual members lacked the authority to conduct oversight. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the committee members did not suffer the necessary legal injury to justify their lawsuit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit revived the case in 2020, asserting that a denied request for information, to which the requester is statutorily entitled, constitutes a concrete and individualized injury.
President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, defending the GSA, appealed the case to the Supreme Court, expressing concerns about setting a potentially problematic precedent.
They argued that allowing a few members of Congress, even those from a minority party, to harass and distract executive branch officials could lead to undesirable outcomes.
