Competitive Enter. Inst. v. Podesta, No. 21-1238, 2022 WL 17250237 (D.D.C. Nov. 28, 2022) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)

Competitive Enter. Inst. v. Podesta, No. 21-1238, 2022 WL 17250237 (D.D.C. Nov. 28, 2022) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)

Re:  Request for certain records concerning National Climate Task Force

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s renewed motion to dismiss in part

• Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA:  The court holds that “[n]either . . . [the] . . . former Chair, nor . . . [the] current Chair, are subject to FOIA.”  “Needless to say, individuals are not agencies.”  “Therefore, all claims against [the current Chair], as substituted for [the former Chair], must be dismissed.”
  
  “Nor is the National Climate Task Force an agency for the purposes of FOIA because, even taking the complaint’s allegations as true, the Task Force lacks substantial authority independent of the President.”  “The ‘substantial independent authority’ test is governed by the following factors:  ‘(1) how close operationally the group is to the President, (2) whether it has a self-contained structure, and (3) the nature of its delegat[ed] authority.’”  “‘These three factors are not necessarily to be weighed equally; rather, each factor warrants consideration insofar as it is illuminating in the particular case.’”  “The lodestar of the Court’s analysis nevertheless remains whether the entity in question exercises ‘substantial independent authority.’”  “The first factor – how operationally close the group is to the President – suggests the Task Force does not wield substantial independent authority.”  “Although Executive Order does not describe how the President interacts with the Task Force, . . . a few of its characteristics establish its proximity to the President.”  “First, the Task Force is led by the ‘Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation’ and the ‘Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor.’”  “As personnel within the White House Office – the sub-unit within the broader Executive Office of the President that works closest with the President – these officials serve solely to advise and assist the President.”  “They therefore possess no substantial independence from the President when they lead the Task Force.”  “The rest of the Task Force consists of department and agency heads.”  “Although these individuals exercise independent authority as heads of their independent respective agencies, they exercise no independent authority when acting as members of the Task Force.”  “When fulfilling their duties as members of the Task Force, they only confer among themselves and advise the President.”  “The Task Force is, at most, a discussion group.”  “The second factor – whether the group has a self-contained structure – weighs in Defendants’ favor.”  “Plaintiff’s complaint does not allege that the Task Force has its own dedicated staff, and public records suggest it does not.”  “Such a configuration –made up entirely of people ‘borrowed’ from other government organizations for a limited purpose and duration – does not have a self-contained structure.”  “The third factor – which concerns the nature of the authority delegated to the Task Force – also weighs in Defendants’ favor.”  “The National Climate Task Force does not support Congress, issue binding regulations to any party, or perform any function apart from advising and assisting the President.”  “The Executive Order makes apparent that the Task Force’s role is merely to ‘facilitate’ the organization, development, and implementation of federal climate policy by serving as a forum for communication and coordination, pursuant to the President’s goals.”  “It requires executive branch agencies to provide various reports, plans, and appraisals to the Task Force, but it does not empower the Task Force to conduct its own formal evaluations, or take any concrete steps with regard to what it receives.”  “Without any independent authority, all the Task Force can do with such inputs is use them to inform its members and other officials in order to bolster their individual and collective decision-making.”
   
• Litigation Considerations, Discovery:  The court holds that “the record before the Court, and particularly the Executive Order, is more than adequate to resolve the narrow legal issue before it.”  “As such Plaintiff’s request for discovery is denied.”