A federal judge has allowed a legal challenge against the Department of Government Efficiency to proceed, rejecting the Trump administration’s push to have the case thrown out.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued her ruling Monday, denying the government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by more than a dozen state attorneys general and several nonprofit organizations.
The plaintiffs allege that Elon Musk wielded executive authority over DOGE in violation of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires Senate confirmation for officials exercising significant governmental power.
Chutkan found their case credible enough to continue, pointing to public statements made by Trump himself, DOGE officials, and other members of the administration as evidence that DOGE had assumed real, sweeping power.
The government had argued the allegations amounted to nothing more than unsupported assertions, but the judge disagreed.
In her written ruling, Chutkan described DOGE’s leadership role as going well beyond that of a presidential advisor, noting that evidence pointed to DOGE officials personally making decisions and issuing directives on matters including the cancellation of federal grants, the termination of contracts, and the firing of federal employees.
Among the evidence she cited were DOGE officials’ own public boasts about ending a $2.3 million contract and shutting down USAID entirely.
Two claims tied to the Appointments Clause violations will now move into the discovery phase.
Two other claims, alleging DOGE breached the Administrative Procedure Act and constitutional separation of powers principles, were dismissed.
Musk stepped down from DOGE in May after reaching the time limit on his role as a special government employee.
His relationship with Trump later soured before the two reportedly patched things up, aided in part by Musk’s significant financial contributions to Republican candidates.
