By Jack Queen and Tom Hals
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Trump administration had a win on Tuesday when a judge sided with them in a lawsuit brought by Democratic attorneys general from several states against Elon Musk, the chief government cost-cutter under the Republican president.
In Washington, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied the attorneys general’s request to stop Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing federal computer systems or firing government employees while the legal battle unfolds. Chutkan expressed concerns about the power held by Musk, an unelected individual overseeing an entity not created by Congress and lacking oversight.
The attorneys general contended that Musk’s actions put their programs at risk and accused his team of unauthorized data access and mass layoffs within the federal workforce. More than a dozen states, including New Mexico, Michigan, and Arizona, filed the lawsuit.
The formation of DOGE by Trump and Musk’s subsequent efforts to cut costs in the government have sparked controversy. The state attorneys general argued that Musk’s authority exceeds that of an appointed government officer under the U.S. Constitution. They also claimed that DOGE lacks authorization from Congress.
The lawsuit aimed to prevent DOGE from accessing systems in various federal departments and from terminating or suspending federal employees. Judge Chutkan, appointed by former President Barack Obama, was urged to halt Musk’s team from carrying out such actions.
Although several lawsuits challenging Musk’s authority have been lodged in federal courts, outcomes have been mixed. While a temporary block on DOGE accessing Treasury systems was extended in New York, a separate request to prevent access to records in other departments was denied in Washington.
The legal battles surrounding Musk’s role in government cost-cutting remain ongoing, with numerous judges yet to issue final rulings.
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