A United States judge has handed a temporary win to President Donald Trump and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, ruling against a request for a temporary restraining order that would slow down their efforts to hollow out federal agencies.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision on Tuesday came as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by 14 states, arguing that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has no authority to fire federal workers or access sensitive data.
Chutkan concluded that Musk’s legal authority to carry out firings and cut funds was questionable, but that the states had failed to prove the imminent harm that would justify a restraining order.
Still, she expressed sympathy for the states’ case, saying they “legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual”.
“DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion,” Chutkan wrote, pointing out that DOGE “was not created by Congress” and has little oversight.
It was a rare legal victory for the Trump administration, which has seen several federal courts issue restraining orders to halt its actions.
Since entering office, Trump and his allies have moved swiftly to debilitate federal agencies that have long been viewed with ire by conservatives, arguing that they are rooting out wasteful spending and unspecified “fraud”.
Experts and Democratic officials have questioned the legality of some of those moves.
Tuesday’s lawsuit was led by 14 state attorneys general. It sought to bar DOGE employees from receiving sensitive information from government departments for labour, education, health and human services, energy, transportation and commerce, as well as the Office of Personnel Management.
In seeking a restraining order, the states also hoped to prevent DOGE from firing federal workers or placing them on leave.
Their case hinges on the argument that Musk and DOGE are exercising powers that must be approved by Congress.
Trump announced the creation of DOGE shortly after his re-election in November, saying its goal would be to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies”.
Upon taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order replacing the US Digital Service – an office tasked with updating government technology – with DOGE, folding it into the executive branch.
The president has since signed another order, making DOGE authorisation necessary for new hires at federal agencies. DOGE has also sought to access data across the agencies, including the US Treasury, Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service.
Critics warn such unfettered access to information could create a conflict of interest for Musk, whose business rivals may be among the data collected. They also argue that any unauthorised changes to the data systems at these agencies could be hard to detect and undo.
Typically, nominees to high-level executive positions have to go through a process of Senate confirmation. But it is ambiguous what Musk’s role in the government is.
Musk has spoken openly about his plans to slash funds and fire employees from various government agencies. He has frequently appeared at the White House in recent weeks, including for visits from foreign leaders like India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argued on Tuesday that Musk is acting as “a senior adviser to the president, if you will”.
At a news conference later in the day at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump was also asked about Musk’s role.
“Elon is, to me, a patriot,” Trump replied. “You could call him an employee. You could call him a consultant. You could call him whatever you want, but he’s a patriot.”
When pressed about whether Musk’s access to the Department of Defence and the Federal Aviation Administration would present a conflict of interest, given the fact he owns an aerospace company, Trump was dismissive.
“ Obviously I will not let there be any conflict of interest,” Trump said.
“ I told Elon, any conflicts, you can’t have anything to do with that. So anything to do with possibly even space, we won’t let Elon partake in that.”
The legal ambiguity has created a dizzying list of legal challenges and counter-challenges applying to a number of agencies and argued before numerous judges.
Musk has leaned into hostile rhetoric about government agencies, referring to overseas assistance agency USAID as a “vipers nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America”.
He has also attacked judges who rule unfavourably on his efforts with Trump. After a judge ordered data sets that had been purged from government agency websites to be restored, Musk called him an “evil judge” who “must be fired”.
