The White House is expected to announce the removal of a federal regulation that allows the public to obtain information from one of its administrative offices.
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, March 17, the White House says the move to exempt the Office of Administration from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is consistent with a court ruling issued by a federal appeals court in 2008, which ruled that the Office of Administration, under the Executive Office of the President, is not subject to FOIA because it "performs only operational and administrative tasks in support of the president and his staff" and "lacks substantial independent authority."
"The Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration, is removing regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations related to the status of records created and maintained by the Executive Office of the President," the notice states (pdf). "This action is being taken in order to align Office of Administration policy with well-settled legal interpretations of the Office of Administration's status under Federal law and executive orders."
