A judge refuses to toss states’ lawsuit against Elon Musk and DOGE
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/05/2025 (302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit that accuses billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency of illegally accessing government data systems, canceling government contracts and firing federal employees.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Tuesday that 14 states can proceed with their claims against Musk and DOGE. The states, through their attorneys general, sued in February over the defendants’ alleged constitutional violations.
The states had asked Chutkan to temporarily block DOGE from accessing any data systems or terminating any federal employees. But the judge denied that request on Feb. 18. She found that there were legitimate questions about Musk’s authority but said there weren’t grounds to justify a temporary restraining order.
Chutkan agreed Tuesday to dismiss President Donald Trump as a defendant in the lawsuit, but she refused to dismiss the claims against Musk and DOGE.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that Musk’s actions, including those carried out at his direction by DOGE personnel, are unconstitutional because he hasn’t been legally appointed.
Chutkan wrote: “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. This is precisely what Plaintiffs claim the Executive has done.”
The Trump administration has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads and insisted that Musk hasn’t been running DOGE’s day-to-day operations.
Chutkan, who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, previously oversaw the now-dismissed criminal election interference case against Trump in Washington.