Judge who oversaw Trump’s Jan. 6 case will hear arguments over Musk’s authority to run DOGE

(WASHINGTON) — The federal judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s election interference case will hear arguments Friday over tech billionaire Elon Musk’s authority to run the Department of Government Efficiency.

Fourteen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging that Musk’s “expansive authority” is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which calls for anyone deemed a “principal officer” of the U.S. government to be formally nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

“[T]he President does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally dismantle the government. Nor could he delegate such expansive authority to an unelected, unconfirmed individual,” the lawsuit says.

The 14 states filed a motion Friday seeking a temporary restraining order to block Musk and DOGE from continuing to overhaul and cut the federal government.

The motion asks U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to immediately block Musk from altering the funding for any agency, from placing any employees on leave, from canceling any government contracts, from accessing any sensitive data, and from “asserting control over” any agency.

Chutkan oversaw the 2023 criminal case that charged Trump with undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election in an effort to remain in power. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the case was dismissed following Trump’s reelection in November due to a longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.

DOGE, led by Musk as the centerpiece of Trump’s campaign promise to trim the federal government, has found itself in the crosshairs of multiple federal lawsuits, which allege that it has improperly accessed sensitive records and is unlawfully gutting government agencies. Federal judges have temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing sensitive data at the Treasury Department, while the Department of Education recently reached an agreement to limit DOGE’s access to student loan records.

In their motion Friday, the 14 states allege that Musk has already “cut billions of dollars from agency budgets, fired agency personnel, and that he has moved to, in his words, ‘delete’ entire agencies. He has canceled government contracts, announced plans to sell government property, and promised to withdraw a multitude of regulations across different agencies. He has installed his own teams into agencies and given them access to the agencies’ most sensitive data.”

“In other words, an individual accountable only to the President — if he answers to anyone at all — is exercising apparently limitless power within the Executive Branch. Mr. Musk’s conduct has wreaked havoc on the federal government and caused mass chaos and confusion for state and local governments, federal employees, the American public, and people around the world who depend on the United States for leadership and support,” the filing says.

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