Democrats' Lawfare Threatens To Sideline Musk And DOGE
Margot Cleveland
More than a dozen blue states which sued Elon Musk and DOGE on Thursday will push for an injunction against the Trump Administration later this morning. If granted, the temporary restraining order, or TRO, will immediately halt the president and the federal agencies’ ongoing efforts to cut waste, fraud, and the embedded members of the bureaucratic resistance. And unlike the various TROs entered to date in other cases which served merely as paper nuisances, a TRO freezing out Musk and DOGE would be devasting — both to the president’s agenda and our constitutional structure.
On Thursday, fourteen states filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency), and President Donald Trump in a federal district court in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit, New Mexico v. Musk, alleged Musk, “an unelected, unconfirmed government official, is exercising unprecedented executive authority in violation the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.”
Soon after, the Plaintiff States moved for an emergency TRO, asking the court to immediately enjoin Musk, DOGE, “along with personnel associated with these entities,” from accessing any data from the various federal agencies, freezing or canceling any federal grants or contracts, or taking steps to fire or place employees on administrative leave.
On Friday, federal judge Tanya S. Chutkan held a hearing on the states’ motion for a TRO. Following the hearing, Chutkan, the Barack Obama appointee who refused to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against Trump following the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, entered an order directing the states to redraft and narrow their proposed TRO by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday — timing which suggested that the judge intended to expeditiously enjoin the Trump Administration.
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https://thefederalist.com/2025/02/17/democrats-lawfare-threatens-to-sideline-musk-and-doge/
