{"id":2402496,"date":"2025-02-13T19:27:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T00:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fourteen-states-sue-elon-musk-and-doge-over-alleged-unchecked-authority-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T19:28:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T00:28:38","slug":"fourteen-states-sue-elon-musk-and-doge-over-alleged-unchecked-authority-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fourteen-states-sue-elon-musk-and-doge-over-alleged-unchecked-authority-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Fourteen states sue Elon Musk and DOGE over alleged \u2018unchecked authority\u2019 &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffourteen-states-sue-elon-musk-and-doge-over-alleged-unchecked-authority-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2402496&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>fourteen states have filed a lawsuit \u200dagainst elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, challenging Musk&#8217;s extensive powers in\u2063 overseeing DOGE, an advisory board aimed\u2063 at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newt-gingrich-why-the-house-republican-commitment-to-america-matters\/\" title=\"Newt Gingrich: Why the House Republican Commitment to America Matters\">eliminating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-top-republican-explains-how-bidens-budget-package-raises-taxes-hurts-working-class\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Top Republican Explains How Biden\u2019s Budget Package Raises Taxes, Hurts Working Class\">wasteful government spending<\/a><\/a>. Led by\u200b new Mexico, the\u2063 lawsuit was \u2062filed in\u2064 Washington, D.C., and claims that Musk&#8217;s authority is unconstitutional, seeking to restrict his ability\u200b to alter \u200bgovernment contracts and direct spending. The complaint alleges that Musk, endorsed by President Donald Trump, has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity\/\" title=\"Feds Jeopardized Security Of 1M Americans\u2019 Online Accounts, Citing \u2018Equity\u2019\">accessing sensitive data<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-to-know-about-biden-strategy-for-opening-up-spectrum-and-improving-5g\/\" title=\"What to know about Biden strategy for opening up spectrum and improving 5G\">disrupting federal operations<\/a>, which \u2064the states argue \u2063undermines\u200b the constitutional requirement for Senate confirmation of high-level officials.States participating in the lawsuit include\u2063 both blue (like California and Massachusetts)\u200b and purple states (like Nevada and Arizona). The \u2063lawsuit comes amid\u200c multiple legal challenges\u2062 to the Trump governance&#8217;s \u2064policies and actions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Fourteen states sue Elon Musk and DOGE over alleged &lsquo;unchecked authority&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1992368\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Fourteen states brought a lawsuit against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Elon Musk\">Elon Musk<\/a> and the Department of Government Efficiency on Thursday, adding to the dozens of legal fights jamming up President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s agenda during his first month in office.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>New Mexico led the states in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/69638651\/2\/new-mexico-state-of-v-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">lawsuit,<\/a> which was filed in Washington, D.C., and alleged Musk&rsquo;s far-reaching authority as head of DOGE is unconstitutional. The states asked a judge to block Musk&rsquo;s ability to carry out certain actions, such as canceling government contracts or ordering spending changes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In recent weeks, Defendant Elon Musk, with President Donald J. Trump&rsquo;s approval, has roamed through the federal government unraveling agencies, accessing sensitive data, and causing mass chaos and confusion for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people,&rdquo; state attorneys wrote, saying Musk has &ldquo;unchecked authority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump established DOGE as an advisory board to root out wasteful government spending and identify fraud. The president tapped Musk, a billionaire tech CEO, to helm the effort.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big businessman. He&rsquo;s a successful guy. That&rsquo;s why we want him doing this,&rdquo; Trump said from the Oval Office while speaking to reporters alongside Musk this week.<\/p>\n<p>But Musk and his team, which <em>WIRED<\/em> reported included several college-aged engineers, have drawn scrutiny for gaining what the lawsuit alleged was improper access to sensitive information stored in several government agencies. <\/p>\n<p>Asked about any &ldquo;checks and balances&rdquo; surrounding Musk&rsquo;s role during the Oval Office appearance, Musk said he was &ldquo;trying to be as transparent as possible&rdquo; and that the DOGE team was posting updates about its findings on its website and on the platform X, which Musk owns. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Your tax dollars need to be spent wisely on things that matter to the people,&rdquo; Musk said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just common sense.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The states said Musk&rsquo;s and DOGE&rsquo;s access level to the Department of Treasury, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other agencies breached the appointments clause of the Constitution, which requires the Senate to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">confirm executive branch officials<\/a> who hold the highest levels of authority.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has all but dismantled USAID, which has a multibillion-dollar budget and provides foreign aid, including food and medicine, to dozens of countries. The agency has drawn enormous criticism for mismanaging its finances. Musk recently called it a &ldquo;criminal organization.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Blue states, including California and Massachusetts, joined the lawsuit, as did purple states, including Nevada and Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s &ldquo;sweeping authority&rdquo; is &ldquo;antithetical to the nation&rsquo;s entire constitutional structure,&rdquo; the states alleged.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration&rsquo;s aggressive executive actions, carried out at a stunningly fast pace, have been met with equally as zealous litigation. Lawsuits are challenging Trump&rsquo;s large-scale layoffs of federal workers, his reinterpretation of birthright citizenship, his broad freeze on federal spending, and other actions.<\/p>\n<p>Sixty-three lawsuits have been filed against the administration at this stage, according to a <em>Just Security<\/em> analysis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1992368\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1992368\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fourteen states sue Elon Musk and DOGE for &#8216;unchecked authority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2402497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25042757024680.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[23466,32192,4585,5090,50367],"class_list":["post-2402496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-doge","tag-elon-musk","tag-lawsuit","tag-states","tag-unchecked-authority"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25042757024680.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402496"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402500,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402496\/revisions\/2402500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}