BURSTA federal judge issued a Tuesday ruling allowing 14 states to pursue their lawsuit against Elon Musk for his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said plaintiffs have legal standing to proceed after alleging that Musk was “unauthorized by law” to “exercise virtually unchecked power across the entire Executive Branch, making decisions about expenditures, contracts, government property, regulations, and the very existence of federal agencies.”
DOGE, under the helm of Musk, has been responsible for widespread government layoffs and spending reductions since President Trump returned to the White House earlier this year.
“The Constitution does not permit the Executive to commandeer the entire appointments power by unilaterally creating a federal agency pursuant to Executive Order and insulating its principal officer from the Constitution as an ‘advisor’ in name only,” Chutkan wrote about Musk's role as a "special government employee."
Attorney Generals from Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington in addition to New Mexico — who filed the lawsuit have lauded Chutkan’s decision to move forward with the case.
“Today’s decision by the courts is another step forward in holding the federal government accountable for the illegal and harmful sweeping authority vested in DOGE in direct and plain violation of the U.S. Constitution,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement to The Hill.
“The Constitution, and the Appointments Clause, are not mere roadblocks for this administration to ignore. I look forward to continuing this case in court,” she added.
Although Musk has seemingly taken a step back from his duties in Washington and shifted focus back to his companies, attorney generals say he must still answer for his actions while in Washington.
“Elon Musk may be leaving town, but this case will go on,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said.
“No one should be allowed to outsource the presidency to one of their billionaire friends or exercise executive authority without the advice and consent of the Senate," he added. "This is about the rule of law, plain and simple.”
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.