- State attorneys general have filed a new lawsuit against Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.
- The lawsuit accuses Musk of an "unlawful assault" on the federal government through his work at DOGE.
- The suit also takes aim at Musk's access to the Defense Department, which has contracts with SpaceX.
A band of state attorneys general have sued Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, accusing the tech billionaire of an "unlawful assault" on the federal government through his role as head of DOGE.
The more than a dozen Democratic AGs allege in the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Washington, DC, federal court, that Trump has given "virtually unchecked authority" to Musk in violation of the US Constitution.
"As a result, he has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers," the lawsuit says.
Since Trump was sworn into office last month for a second presidential term, his administration, along with Musk, the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, has wasted no time in their efforts to shrink the federal government.
The Department of Defense is now among Musk's slew of targets as Trump has directed Musk's DOGE to probe wasteful Pentagon spending. The AG's lawsuit takes aim at Musk's access to the Defense Department, noting the agency "has billions of dollars in contracts with Mr. Musk" through his SpaceX company and others.
"The Defense Department relies on SpaceX to get most of its satellites into orbit and works closely with his companies on a variety of other initiatives," the lawsuit says, adding, "This authority over the Defense Department, including its contracts, management of personnel, its funding decisions, programs, and systems, may only be exercised by a duly appointed officer."
According to records from the federal site USAspending.gov, Musk's SpaceX had been awarded at least $6 billion from the Department of Defense since 2003.
Musk and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. The Department of Defense declined to comment.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk's "seemingly limitless and unchecked power to strip the government of its workforce and eliminate entire departments with the stroke of a pen or click of a mouse would have been shocking to those who won this country's independence."
"There is no office of the United States, other than the President, with the full power of the Executive Branch, and the sweeping authority now vested in a single unelected and unconfirmed individual is antithetical to the nation's entire constitutional structure," the lawsuit says.
The AGs say in the lawsuit that Musk's "officer-level" actions are "unconstitutional" since the SpaceX and Tesla CEO has not been nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
"Mr. Musk is far more than an adviser to the White House," says the lawsuit. "He executes the President's agenda by exercising virtually unchecked power across the entire Executive Branch, making decisions about expenditures, contracts, government property, regulations, and the very existence of federal agencies."
The group of attorneys general from the states, including Oregon, New Mexico, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maryland, want the court to "restore constitutional order" and block Musk from issuing orders to anyone in the executive branch outside of DOGE. They also want the court to declare that Musk's actions are not legally binding.
"Elon Musk's attempt to demolish key government systems has thrown everything into chaos," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement. "This power grab puts people's privacy and security at risk. No one should be able to mess with the systems that keep our country running."
Some of Trump and Musk's boldest moves have so far been challenged in lawsuits, resulting in judges either blocking or temporarily halting them.
