Judge Seems Unwilling To Immediately Bar Musk From Meddling In Federal Agencies

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday appeared poised to reject an effort to immediately bar Elon Musk and his allies from accessing data or causing firings across a broad swath of the federal government.

The judge said an effort by Democrat-led states lacked enough concrete evidence to justify that extraordinary restriction.

Chutkan, a Washington-based appointee of former President Barack Obama, agreed that Musk’s operations through the “Department of Government Efficiency” were taking place in troubling secrecy. And she acknowledged that DOGE is operating so swiftly that it is difficult to reach quick conclusions about the legality of its moves.

“DOGE appears to be moving in no sort of predictable and orderly fashion and plaintiffs are obviously scrambling to find out what’s next,” Chutkan said during an hourlong hearing held via videoconference on the federal holiday. “I don’t know if that’s deliberate or not.”

But the judge said granting the temporary restraining order sought as part of a lawsuit brought by Democratic attorneys general required much clearer evidence that DOGE’s actions were causing grave, permanent damage. Instead, she said, states had relied primarily on news reports that speculated about the risks of Musk and DOGE’s actions, some of which she said could potentially be remedied in further litigation.

“I’m not seeing it so far. … It’s sort of like a prophylactic TRO and that’s not allowed,” Chutkan said, adding that she hoped to issue a ruling within 24 hours. “The courts can’t act based on media reports. We can’t do that.”

The states argue that Musk’s influential role in the government violates the Constitution’s appointments clause, which generally requires that powerful officers in the executive branch are formally appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. A separate lawsuit federal employees filed in Maryland makes a similar argument.

Justice Department attorney Joshua Gardner said any firings or funding cuts were not being carried out directly by Musk or members of the U.S. Digital Service team he has assembled, but rather by officials within the federal agencies who have the authority to manage their own workforces.

“There is not a single instance of Elon Musk in his own name or the USDS commanding any of these actions at all,” Gardner said. “Somebody is signing that document, somebody is taking that action on behalf of the government. … All they’ve done is offer these kind of 100,000-foot allegations that Elon Musk is holding the puppet strings.”

Chutkan emphasized that the allegations brought by states were weighty and serious, amounting to claims that he is “essentially running the government” without legal authority. She noted that mass firings orchestrated by DOGE are “not a small thing.”

An attorney for New Mexico, Anjana Samant, said there isn’t a lot of legal precedent about outsiders being given control of major federal agency decisions.

“This is factually a one-of-a-kind situation,” she said. “We’ve never experienced … this type of wielding of power in this way.”

The judge asked the Justice Department to provide her quickly with evidence of what DOGE is doing, including facts about the mass firings taking place across the government and any others planned over the next two weeks.

Although Chutkan seemed disinclined to grant an immediate restraining order, she seemed to hold a more favorable view of the states’ wider lawsuit against Musk. The states will have more opportunities to gather and present further evidence about Musk’s activities as the litigation continues.

“Mr. Musk hasn’t been nominated, confirmed by Congress or appointed to anything,” Chutkan said, describing the states’ case. “He’s been sort of tasked with directing the actions of this organization. … This is essentially a private citizen directing an organization that’s not a federal agency that has access to the entire workings of the federal government, fire, hire, slash contracts, terminate programs all without apparently any congressional oversight.”

The states asked Chutkan to issue a short-term order barring Musk and DOGE from accessing data and instituting firings at seven federal departments and agencies: the Departments of Labor, Energy, Education, Transportation, Commerce and Health and Human Services, as well as the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s massive HR department.

Chutkan’s skepticism of their position follows another judge’s rejection of a restraining order on DOGE’s efforts to access databases within a handful of federal departments. Chutkan repeatedly cited the decision by U.S. District Judge John Bates as she noted her skepticism.