A coalition of 14 state attorneys general sued Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency on Thursday, challenging the billionaire’s unprecedented influence over the federal government despite never being nominated or confirmed by the Senate to a governmental office.
New Mexico leads the suit, brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state joined as plaintiffs.
The attorneys general ask a federal judge to “restore constitutional order,” enjoin Musk from issuing orders to anyone in the executive branch outside of DOGE itself and declare all his actions to date as illegal and without effect.
They point to the Constitution’s appointments clause, which the framers crafted to buttress the separation of powers by specifically requiring that Congress must create an office before a president can fill it, and that the Senate confirm any nominee to said office.
“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 say.
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