Trump administration withdraws U.S. from global open government initiative
The U.S. government has backed out of an organization it helped found that’s aimed at improving how governments can better serve their citizens.
The Open Government Partnership announced Wednesday that the U.S. had formally withdrawn its membership, adding to a growing list of organizations the administration has departed.
Despite the U.S. being one of the founding nations of the organization in 2011, the General Services Administration’s head, Edward Forst, wrote to the group’s leadership this month to notify them of the decision.
Per a copy of that letter published by OGP, Forst said the country’s participation in the organization “has become at best ineffective and at worst detrimental to advancing” principles outlined in the nation’s founding documents, though he didn’t cite specific documents.
Forst implied that the body “seeks to erode U.S. national sovereignty” and went on to blame its “embrace of divisive ideological agendas” as a reason the nation dropped its membership.
“Racial identity politics, anti-police bias, LGBTQ+ advocacy, feminism, and climate alarmism have increasingly dominated OGP’s policy agenda,” Forst wrote. “These divisive agendas, driven by extreme ideological cliques, have destroyed the ability of OGP to credibly operate as a voice for transparency.”
That rhetoric echoes the Trump administration’s controversial efforts to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, from the federal government — whether through the termination of grants, positions, organizations, or data points. The withdrawal also comes after the organization reported that the Trump administration had weakened the U.S. government’s existing progress toward open government goals.
In a December report, OGP pointed to the Trump administration’s repeal and replacement of executive orders “related to equity, data transparency, and law enforcement accountability” and disbanding a federal advisory committee on open government as examples of weakened progress.
The U.S. withdrawal was met with disappointment and criticism from the organization’s leadership as well as civil society leaders, though none expressed surprise.
“Anyone who has followed developments over the last year will not be surprised by this decision of the US government,” Aidan Eyakuze, OGP’s CEO, said in a statement included in the release.
Eyakuze commended efforts by government leaders and civil society to advance accountability goals and expressed hope the U.S. would return to the organization one day.
Daniel Schuman, executive director of the nonprofit American Governance Institute who previously led the now-disbanded Open Government Federal Advisory Committee, said the administration’s decision is part of “a broader pattern of opacity.”
“The Trump administration is not only the least transparent government in American history; its policies are antithetical to democracy, of which transparency is an essential element,” Schuman said in a written statement.
The decision adds to the administration’s decision earlier this month to pull out of dozens of global organizations. On Jan. 7, the White House announced it was backing out of 66 organizations, including several that were aimed at cybersecurity.
In response to a FedScoop request for comment on the OGP’s announcement, Marianne Copenhaver, GSA associate administrator for strategic communications, said the pullout “allows the United States to better align taxpayer dollars and engage with the world in a way that more effectively advances our national priorities.”
According to Forst’s letter, the U.S. provided at least $5.6 million to OGP “to date” through the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump disbanded, and the Department of State.
