A coalition of over a dozen state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in Federal court on Feb. 13 against President Trump, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and its leader Elon Musk, accusing them of “unlawful exercise of power” in taking recent actions to invade Federal agencies, access their tech systems, and curtail their operations.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks to prevent Musk and his DOGE team from continuing to access sensitive Federal agency systems that store vast amounts of personal data on millions of Americans.
The 14 attorneys general – who represent California, New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – asserted that Musk has “roamed through the Federal government unraveling agencies, accessing sensitive data, and causing mass chaos and confusion for state and local governments, Federal employees, and the American people.”
The suit argues that those actions by DOGE and Musk are unconstitutional because President Trump has granted Musk “virtually unchecked authority” without first obtaining the necessary legal authorization from Congress, and without conducting proper oversight of his activities.
The states pointed to the Appointments Clause in the Constitution, which they said strengthens the separation of powers by requiring Congress to create an office before the President can appoint someone to head it, and by giving the Senate the right to confirm any nominee to run it. They safeguards, they argued, were violated by the power granted to Musk and his DOGE team by President Trump.
According to the suit, Musk and his DOGE team, classified as “special government employees,” have transformed a relatively minor role – once responsible for managing government websites – into “an unchecked force of chaos,” and have been operating without limits or accountability.
The suit takes aim at DOGE’s activities at the Treasury Department and its tech systems. Beginning last month, DOGE sought to access Treasury Department’s payment systems to “identify and eliminate inefficiencies,” prompting significant pushback in the process.
The lawsuit claims Musk and his team are unlawfully accessing payment systems that house not only individuals’ personal data, but also sensitive government bank account information and other confidential details
In a statement prior to filing the lawsuit, California Attorney General Rob Bonta emphasized that “this level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable.”
“DOGE has no authority to access this information, which they explicitly sought in order to block critical payments that millions of Americans rely on – payments that support health care, childcare, and other essential programs,” he said.
The 14 states are asking a Federal judge to temporarily limit the ability of Musk and DOGE to overhaul Federal agencies, as well as find that Musk’s actions have been unlawful.
President Trump has repeatedly insisted that Musk and DOGE are “looking at tremendous amounts of money being spent on things … that have no value,” and potentially even criminal corruption within Federal agencies.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has stated that Musk is “complying with all applicable Federal laws.”
