A coalition of state attorneys general are challenging the ‘virtually unchecked authority’ they claim was granted to Musk by the Trump administration.
A district judge on Tuesday allowed a coalition of states to move forward with a lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and senior government adviser Elon Musk that claims that the authority granted to Musk by President Donald Trump is unconstitutional because he was not confirmed by the Senate.
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Plaintiffs said the layoffs of thousands of federal workers since January and the shuttering of multiple agencies and departments have led to “mass chaos and confusion for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people.”
They further argued Musk has accessed sensitive data and seized data systems without statutory authority.
“There is no office of the United States, other than the President, with the full power of the Executive Branch, and the sweeping authority now vested in a single unelected and unconfirmed individual is antithetical to the nation’s entire constitutional structure,” the group wrote in their lawsuit.
The Epoch Times contacted the White House and a spokesperson for Musk for comment but received no response by publication time.
Special Government Employee
In a February court filing, the White House said Musk is not an employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and does not have the authority to make decisions.
“Mr. Musk is an employee in the White House Office. He is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization,” Fisher wrote. “Mr Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.”
Fisher also said that Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisers and, like the other advisers, “has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself.”
“Mr. Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives,” Fisher wrote.
The states had asked the court to declare Musk’s actions unconstitutional, bar him from issuing orders to anyone in the executive branch outside DOGE, and invalidate his previous actions.
Chutkan said in Tuesday’s ruling that the states could move forward with their legal challenge against Musk and DOGE because they made a plausible claim that Musk’s cost-cutting activities were “unauthorized by any law.”
She said the court would dismiss Trump as a defendant in the case, writing that the “President’s power to select and nominate officers under the Appointments Clause is highly discretionary and assigned squarely to the President.”
“Declaratory judgment against the President, a ‘coequal branch of government,’ pertaining to the Executive’s exclusive powers under the Constitution ‘at best creates an unseemly appearance of constitutional tension and at worst risks a violation of the constitutional separation of powers,’” Chutkan wrote.
Torrez Welcomes Ruling
Torrez welcomed the ruling on Tuesday, calling it an “important milestone for preserving America’s system of checks and balances.”
“We filed this case to defend the Constitution and stop the dangerous precedent of allowing billionaire donors to dismantle federal agencies, cut vital public programs, and access sensitive state data without lawful authority,” Torrez said in a statement.
Attorneys general from the states of Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Vermont, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon joined New Mexico in the lawsuit.
Those savings amount to around $1,056 per taxpayer, according to DOGE.
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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