WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal choose has refused to throw out a lawsuit that accuses billionaire Elon Musk and the Division of Authorities Effectivity of illegally accessing authorities knowledge methods, canceling authorities contracts and firing federal staff.
U.S. District Choose Tanya Chutkan dominated Tuesday that 14 states can proceed with their claims in opposition to Musk and DOGE. The states, by way of their attorneys common, sued in February over the defendants’ alleged constitutional violations.
The states had requested Chutkan to briefly block DOGE from accessing any knowledge methods or terminating any federal staff. However the choose denied that request on Feb. 18. She discovered that there have been reliable questions on Musk’s authority however mentioned there weren’t grounds to justify a short lived restraining order.
Chutkan agreed Tuesday to dismiss President Donald Trump as a defendant within the lawsuit, however she refused to dismiss the claims in opposition to Musk and DOGE.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that Musk’s actions, together with these carried out at his route by DOGE personnel, are unconstitutional as a result of he hasn’t been legally appointed.
Chutkan wrote: “The Structure doesn’t allow the Government to commandeer your complete appointments energy by unilaterally making a federal company pursuant to Government Order and insulating its principal officer from the Structure as an ‘advisor’ in identify solely. That is exactly what Plaintiffs declare the Government has executed.”
The Trump administration has maintained that layoffs are coming from company heads and insisted that Musk hasn’t been working DOGE’s day-to-day operations.
Chutkan, who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, beforehand oversaw the now-dismissed prison election interference case in opposition to Trump in Washington.
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