A coalition of 14 states filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Thursday, arguing that the power given to the billionaire through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, led by the Democratic attorneys general from Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, in addition to New Mexico, argue that Trump violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution by creating DOGE without approval from Congress, and giving Musk significant authority without Senate confirmation hearings, CNBC reported.
The lawsuit pointed to DOGE playing a central role in reducing the federal workforce, dismantling entire agencies, and accessing sensitive data.
“President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities,” the lawsuit read.
“As a result, he has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers.”
The states are now asking the court to stop Musk from making major changes to government spending, canceling contracts, affecting personnel decisions, or altering data systems. They want to prevent Musk and his team from making significant decisions that could impact the distribution of public funds, contracts, and regulations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the lawsuit a “weaponization of justice” against President Trump, describing it as another attempt to undermine the administration’s actions.
“The White House will continue to fight these battles in court, and we expect to be vindicated,” she stated.
More legal challenges
The latest legal challenge added to a growing number of lawsuits aimed at blocking the influence of DOGE.
Last week, New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with 18 other state attorneys general, sued the Trump administration to prevent DOGE from accessing personal data held by the Treasury Department, calling the access unconstitutional.
A federal judge temporarily blocked DOGE’s access, agreeing with the states that they would suffer irreparable harm.
In another case, 22 state attorneys general were granted a request to stop the Trump administration from making major cuts to federal research agencies, which would affect support for research and maintenance staff.
In a separate legal challenge, current and former employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) filed a lawsuit against Musk and DOGE after their team began influencing the agency. The Trump administration has tried to scale back USAID’s foreign aid efforts and lay off thousands of workers involved in providing international assistance, The Hill reported.
Trump stands by Musk
Despite the ongoing legal challenges, President Trump has defended Musk and DOGE, praising their efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. Trump has also criticized the courts for blocking his administration’s initiatives.
“We have to make our government smaller, more efficient, more effective and a lot less expensive, and we could find a trillion dollars. But we’re being hindered by courts where they file in certain courts where it’s very hard to win and a judge will stop us,” Trump told reporters.
