Washington, D.C., US – Washington-based US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday declined to immediately block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from directing the laying-off of workers and accessing sensitive information.

However, Chutkan did say the case – filed by more than a dozen US states – raised legitimate questions about Musk’s seemingly unchecked authority.

What did the judge say?

In her decision, Chutkan wrote that the states ‘legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual and an entity that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight’.

However, the judge said the states had not shown why they were entitled to an immediate restraining order.

Chutkan could ultimately rule in favour of the states, but said in her ruling that their request for an emergency court order was too broad and speculative.

What is the lawsuit about?

14 states requested a judicial order barring DOGE from accessing computer systems at federal agencies or purging government workers while litigation plays out.

The Democratic attorneys general of the states that sued argued that DOGE’s actions have harmed those states’ ability to carry out states’ ability to carry out educational and other programmes.

The states have argued that DOGE is not authorised by Congress and that Musk is exercising the kind of power that can only be exercised by a government official who has been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Since Donald Trump returned to office last month, DOGE has been sweeping through federal agencies, cutting thousands of jobs and dismantling various programmes.

Trump put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge of rooting out what they see as wasteful spending as part of the US president’s dramatic overhaul of government.

DW