Federal Government Hits Record FOIA Backlog and Low Grant Rates in Fiscal 2025
The federal government turned away a record volume of public document requests and amassed its highest-ever case backlog in fiscal year 2025, bringing compliance with the Freedom of Information Act under intense scrutiny. Federal agencies processed roughly 1.6 million document inquiries that year—the highest total since comprehensive records began 16 years prior—according to government data. However, a New York Times analysis revealed that agencies granted requests in full or in part just 47 percent of the time, marking the lowest grant rate since at least 2010. By September 30, 2025, the backlog of overdue requests approached 340,000 cases, with pending requesters waiting an average of more than 240 days despite a legally mandated 20-day response window.
Spike in Inquiries Traced to AI, Mass Submissions, and Immigration Demands
Current and former FOIA officials attributed the surge in document requests to artificial intelligence tools that simplify inquiry drafting, mass submissions by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, and a rise in immigrants and attorneys seeking records to secure U.S. residency amid stepped-up deportations. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have historically struggled to meet the statutory 20-day deadline. The White House Office of Management and Budget—which granted just 8 percent of its processed requests in fiscal 2025 compared to 31 percent the previous year—blamed left-wing activist groups and “Trump derangement syndrome” for the workload surge, noting the administration prioritized hiring ICE officers over FOIA processors.
Staff Reductions and Structural Changes Fuel Record Delays Under Trump
Government watchdogs and transparency advocates argue that transparency problems have worsened under President Trump due to an aggressive second-term agenda and significant downsizing of records-processing offices. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency spearheaded staff cuts early in the term, leaving the federal FOIA workforce reduced by more than 14 percent to levels unseen since fiscal year 2017. Furthermore, the administration made controversial structural shifts, such as the Department of Homeland Security abandoning automated software for capturing top officials’ text message data in August 2025, and White House efforts to exempt presidential records from the Presidential Records Act of 1978.
Impact on Public Requesters and Ongoing Litigation Tactics
The systemic delays directly affect citizens like Gaston D’Agrivieri, a 39-year-old facing growing student loan debt who has waited over a year for education department records needed to secure loan forgiveness following his former college’s closure. Legal experts and former agency lawyers report that federal offices have increasingly relied on delay tactics, such as demanding unnecessary clarifications for simple queries to pause the 20-day statutory clock or seeking extended deadlines in federal court. Freedom of the Press Foundation representatives and other transparency advocates warn that these procedural obstacles effectively stall public oversight by allowing politically sensitive documents to languish until they lose their news value.
