Fourteen Democrat state attorneys general have sued President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, claiming that Elon Musk is operating with “unchecked power.”
Arizona, Michigan, Rhode Island, New Mexico and Massachusetts are among the states that have filed a lawsuit against President Trump, on the basis that he violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution when he created DOGE, handing Elon Musk “unchecked power.”
“We are asking the court to invalidate his directives and actions and to issue a restraining order,” Michigan AG Dana Nessel wrote.
The suit notes the swingeing cuts DOGE has already brought to the federal workforce, “dismantling entire agencies” and accessing sensitive data.
“The founders of this country would be outraged that, 250 years after our nation overthrew a king, the people of this country—many of whom have fought and died to protect our freedoms—are now subject to the whims of a single unelected billionaire,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement.
In response to the lawsuit, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it is a “continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump.”
“The White House will continue to fight these battles in court, and we expect to be vindicated.”
A few days ago, a federal judge relaxed a temporary restraining order prohibiting all Trump appointees, including the Treasury Secretary, from accessing Department of Treasury Data, in response to another lawsuit filed by nearly 20 Democrat state attorneys general. The judge who issued the original order was an Obama appointee.
The relaxation allows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to access the data, but keeps in place the prohibition on DOGE employees’ accessing the data.