14 US states file federal lawsuit against Trump and Musk

Fourteen U.S. states have filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, challenging Musk’s role as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency and accusing him of being a “designated agent of chaos” whose “sweeping authority” is in violation of the U.S. Constitution, ABC News writes.

“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 a click of a mouse, would have been shocking to those who won this country’s independence,” reads the complaint, which was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Led by the state of New Mexico, the lawsuit argues — in often dramatic terms — that the Appointments Clause of the Constitution calls for someone with such significant and “expansive authority” as Musk to be formally nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

As noted, separately, 26 current and former USAID employees and contractors brought suit against Musk Thursday in a lawsuit that makes the same constitutional claim. That suit, filed in federal court in Maryland, asks a judge to block Musk and any DOGE subordinates from continuing their budget-slashing work unless Musk is nominated by Trump for an official position and confirmed by the Senate.

Earlier, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that representatives from 12 states intend to take legal action to restrict DOGE’s access to information.

U.S. President Donald Trump had announced that Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), designed to “cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.” Ramaswamy later announced his resignation from the leadership of DOGE.