A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked a lower court’s order seeking records from the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency regarding its plans to significantly reduce the size of the federal government.
Earlier this month, United States District Judge Tanya Chutkan directed the DOGE to turn over the documents in response to a lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic-led states, headed by New Mexico. Additional plaintiffs included Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
‘That should be the end of this ill-conceived challenge.’
The states’ lawsuit claimed that the DOGE and Elon Musk violated the U.S. Constitution’s Appointments Clause and separation of powers, arguing that Musk was not confirmed by the Senate. The states aimed to block the DOGE from accessing several government systems and terminating federal employees.
The complaint requested records from the department as part of the discovery process.
“Defendants argue that the ‘inner workings of government’ are immaterial to an Appointments Clause claim,” Chutkan wrote in her decision. “The court is not convinced, but that is a legal issue appropriate for resolution after fulsome briefing. At this stage, it is sufficient that Plaintiffs’ discovery requests intend to reveal the scope of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority.”
She noted that the plaintiffs’ requested materials “seek to identify DOGE personnel and the parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority—a question central to Plaintiffs’ claims.”
Chutkan ordered the DOGE to produce recordings concerning “agencies, employees, legal agreements, or data management systems” pertaining to the states. The judge gave Musk and the DOGE until April 2 to comply.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily blocked Chutkan’s order, suggesting she first rule on the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss before moving to discovery.
Chutkan canceled a Thursday status hearing following the appeals court’s ruling.
The administration’s motion to dismiss argued, “By the Complaint’s own terms, the States agree that Elon Musk ‘does not occupy an office of the United States’; they allege only that he wields ‘de facto power.'”
“That should be the end of this ill-conceived challenge,” it read. “The States’ contrary view rests on conflating influence and authority.”
The White House has insisted that Musk is not the head of the DOGE but a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.
Despite facing an onslaught of litigation, the DOGE has not slowed its cost-cutting efforts. On Wednesday, the DOGE applauded the Department of Labor for terminating $557 million in “America Last” grants, totaling $237 million in savings.
According to the department, the wasteful awards included $10 million for “gender equity in the Mexican workplace,” over $12 million for “worker empowerment in South America,” $5 million for “elevating women’s participation in the workplace” in West Africa, more than $4 million for “assisting foreign migrant workers” in Malaysia, $3 million for “enhanc[ing] social security access and worker protections for internal migrant workers” in Bangladesh, another $3 million for “safe and inclusive work environments” in Lesotho, and $6.25 million for “improving respect for Worker’s rights in agricultural supply chains” in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
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News, Department of government efficiency, Doge, Elon musk, Musk, New mexico, Michigan, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode island, Vermont, Washington, Tanya chutkan, Donald trump, Trump, Politics
