More than a dozen state attorneys general file lawsuit challenging Musk and DOGE’s authority

MINNEAPOLIS — A lawsuit filed on Thursday by attorneys general from 14 states challenges the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to access sensitive government data and exercise “virtually unchecked power.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues President Trump violated the appointments clause of the Constitution by creating a federal department without congressional approval.

DOGE, which isn’t an official government agency, was tasked by Mr. Trump to produce recommendations on trimming federal outlays, with billionaires Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, before he departed,  saying they aimed to cut about $500 billion in annual expenditures.  

Musk’s team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for what he calls waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming Mr. Trump and DOGE are violating the law.

The latest lawsuit details how, according to the state attorneys general, Musk has “unraveled federal agencies, accessed sensitive data, and caused widespread disruption for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people.” It goes on to say DOGE “endangers cybersecurity and erodes public trust.”

The New Mexico Department of Justice is leading the lawsuit with Arizona and Michigan as co-leads. Attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington also joined the lawsuit.

They asked the court to order Musk to identify ways that “any data obtained through unlawful agency access was used,” destroy “such unauthorized access in his or DOGE’s possession” and bar Musk and DOGE from ordering changes in the disbursement of public funds, canceling government contracts, taking steps to dismantle agencies and more.

On Thursday, Musk called for the U.S. to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.

Democratic attorneys general say Musk’s approach is generating profound concerns among their constituents about the secure handling of sensitive information at agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the IRS.

“Donald Trump seems to think a narrow electoral victory makes him into a king. He could not be more wrong,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “Worse still, Trump installed Elon Musk at the head of that agency without vetting and Senate confirmation, and Musk has proceeded to use that unconstitutional appointment to try to cut the federal government to the bone.”

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Mr. Trump is demonstrating “weakness” in deploying Musk rather than advancing his agenda through a Republican-controlled Congress.

“Move fast and breaking things may work in Silicon Valley for a tech company,” Torrez said. “It’s not good governance and it’s unconstitutional.”

The lawsuit seeks a court ruling declaring Musk’s actions unconstitutional and wants his previous actions invalidated.

Last week, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued Mr. Trump. 

Last month, a lawsuit from a public interest law firm called National Security Counselors accused DOGE of operating as a federal advisory committee, putting it in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, or FACA, which regulates the functions and transparency of federal advisory committees, according to the group.

A coalition representing veterans, public health professionals, teachers and other groups also filed a suit against DOGE, citing FACA and asking a court to block DOGE’s activities until it complies with the law.   

contributed to this report.