Judge Tanya Chutkan has ordered a special Presidents Day hearing in a case taken by 14 states against Elon Musk's Department Of Government Efficiency [DOGE].
Newsweek sought email comment from DOGE and Elon Musk on Monday.
Why It Matters
Musk, the CEO of the Tesla company, has vowed to cut up to $2 trillion a year from the federal budget as co-director of DOGE.
Fourteen states are fighting to stop DOGE, they are: New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Unlike other legal action taken against DOGE this month, the lawsuit seeks to tackle DOGE as an entity, rather than focus on individual cuts it has made to specific agencies or government departments.
What To Know
Washington, D.C. Judge Tanya Chutkan oversaw special counsel Jack Smith's election fraud indictment against Donald Trump. She was known for rejecting requests by Trump's lawyers to delay the case and completely rejected the argument that Smith was illegally appointed.
Chutkan is determined to push on with the DOGE case and has called a hearing for February 17, Presidents Day, which is unusual for federal judges.
"The parties are hereby ORDERED to appear for a hearing on February 17, 2025 at 11 a.m. ET by Telephonic/VTC via Zoom before Judge Tanya S. Chutkan," her notice reads.
The public can hear the case by phone. The hearing can be accessed by dialing the Toll Free Number: 833-990-9400 (Meeting ID: 493633106).
On February 14, attorneys general from 14 states filed the lawsuit in a Washington, D.C. federal court, and it was randomly assigned to Chutkan.
In their lawsuit, the states argue that Musk was illegally appointed and call for the court to stop DOGE's drastic cuts across the federal government.
The lawsuit states that DOGE has spread "chaos and confusion" across the U.S. and describes Musk as "an agent of chaos."
What People Are Saying
In an additional filing on Sunday, February 16, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, on behalf of the 14 plaintiff states, urged Chutkan to block new cuts by DOGE, including the firing of all Department of Education anti-discrimination officers.
"Starting this Wednesday, February 19, 2025, they plan to engage in mass firings of employees at civil rights and employment discrimination offices within ED [Education Department], whose existence is mandated by law.
"Each of the departments and agencies identified in Plaintiffs' revised proposed order are reflected in recently published DOGE documents as Mr. Musk's and DOGE's targets for massive reductions," the filing states.
What Happens Next
Chutkan will give DOGE an opportunity to respond to Sunday's filing. She will then decide within days on whether to impose a temporary restraining order on DOGE and on Musk.
If she does so, she will then have to decide whether to then impose a longer-term preliminary restraining order, which DOGE could then appeal.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more