By Shifra Dayak, NOTUS, Apr. 27, 2026
These days, the life cycle of a Freedom of Information Act request goes something like this: submit the request, wait and watch the 20-business-day deadline for an agency to respond pass. Wait some more, and more, and then some more.
Sometimes, a FOIA officer sends a clarifying question. Either nothing more comes of it, or the released records are rife with redactions. Attempts to appeal result in more delays, leaving one more option: to sue.
Legally public information from the government is becoming harder to access. The Department of Energy reported 2,277 backlogged FOIA requests — or requests that are still open past the legally required response time — at the end of fiscal year 2025; by comparison, the agency reported 1,629 backlogged requests at the end of fiscal year 2024.
The Department of Defense reported a 20% increase in pending requests and a 42% increase in backlogged requests between the end of fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The State Department’s backlog, meanwhile, grew from more than 21,000 requests at the end of fiscal year 2024 to more than 27,000 requests at the end of fiscal year 2025.
A dozen experts, ranging from former federal employees who worked in FOIA offices to lawyers that litigate FOIA cases, told NOTUS that the Trump administration is categorically worse at complying with the transparency law.
Read more here.