According to the filing submitted to court by US Government Office Director Joshua Fisher, Musk only acts as an advisor to President Donald Trump and has no authority to make decisions on behalf of the government.
DOGE is the agency responsible for proposing measures to streamline the government apparatus, leading to thousands of employees at many agencies being forced to quit their jobs. However, Joshua Justices documents do not specify who is running the organization.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over the hearing on February 18 about Musk's authority, expressed concern about the way the DOGE operated. The agency lacks public order, while a private individual like Elon Musk has access to the federal government without scrutiny, she said.
Chutkan also warned that a non-federal organization could recruit, lay off personnel and end programs without parliamentary approval.
Previously, on February 13, a group of 14 states filed a lawsuit against Presidents Donald Trump and Elon Musk, accusing the billionaire of holding too much power by continuously streamlining government personnel. However, the White House stressed that Musk was only appointed as a special government official with the right to express opinions but no decision-making power.
