A coalition of fourteen states filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Elon Musk, his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and President Donald Trump, arguing that Musk’s sweeping influence over federal government operations is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, led by New Mexico, challenges Musk’s authority to restructure government spending and workforce reductions without Senate confirmation, claiming that his unchecked power violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
According to the lawsuit, Musk’s ability to eliminate entire departments and cut government jobs with minimal oversight is a direct threat to the foundational principles of American democracy.
“Mr. Musk’s seemingly limitless and unchecked power to strip the government of its workforce and eliminate entire departments with the stroke of a pen or click of a mouse would have been shocking to those who won this country’s independence,” the plaintiffs wrote.The legal challenge asserts that Musk’s role as head of DOGE grants him de facto executive powers beyond those of any unelected official.
“There is no office of the United States, other than the President, with the full power of the Executive Branch, and the sweeping authority now vested in a single unelected and unconfirmed individual is antithetical to the nation’s entire constitutional structure,” the states argued in the filing.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys general from Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and New Mexico.The coalition is requesting that the court immediately block Musk and his team from making significant changes to government policies, including the disbursement of public funds, federal contracts, regulatory decisions, and employment matters.
Additionally, they seek to bar Musk from accessing or modifying government databases, citing risks to national security and data integrity.
The case represents a significant legal battle over the balance of power between elected officials and private individuals wielding government authority.
The Trump administration, with Musk’s leadership at DOGE, has aggressively pursued a broad rollback of federal agencies and budgetary reductions.
While the administration argues that these moves increase efficiency and reduce wasteful spending, critics contend that Musk’s unchecked role lacks legal legitimacy.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, speaking during a press call about the lawsuit, described Musk’s authority as a dangerous concentration of power.
“Our constitutional order was founded in part to guard against the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single individual, and while that construction was first focused on the abuse of power of an 18th-century monarch, it is no less dangerous in the hands of a 21st-century tech tycoon,” Torrez said.
