14 states seek to block Elon Musk, DOGE from accessing federal data
14 states sue to block DOGE from accessing federal data, challenging Musk's authority
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett discusses the upcoming DOGE lawsuit as 14 states seek to block Elon Musk's government agency from accessing federal data and President Donald Trump's efforts to fire the head of an independent agency.
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett dismissed Democratic states' lawsuits against Elon Musk and DOGE, expressing doubt that the Supreme Court will be on their side. Jarrett reacted on "Fox & Friends," Monday, to 14 states suing to block DOGE from accessing federal data, challenging Musk's authority as he continues his slashing of government waste.
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GREGG JARRETT: Presidents have broad authority under Article II of the Constitution to govern and control agencies in departments in the executive branch. How much money is spent hiring, firing, auditing for fraud, waste and abuse. So Trump is exercising a core responsibility, serving the public's interest. That's his solemn duty. The legal question becomes, can he delegate that power to Musk and DOGE? Democrats who have sued say, you can't do that. He wasn't Senate-confirmed under the Appointments clause. That's nonsense. There's a large body of law that says the president absolutely can, on his own without the Senate, confer administrative powers to others like DOGE. So, these early setbacks in various lower courts. That was expected. Trump knew that, you know, liberals would go running and crying to favorable judges. Oh gee whiz, he's stopping our fraud and waste. We want that to continue. Ultimately, I think the Supreme Court will weigh in, and that's where Trump will prevail. The law is on his side.
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett (Fox)
The law's on their side. Plus, when you're serving the public interest and the public is in favor of it. That's something that I think the Supreme Court recognizes. Steve mentioned it, CBS poll found 70% agree that the president is doing what he promised. A majority approve of it as a key part of his mandate. Democrats here are picking the wrong battle. What person in their right mind wants to continue billions of taxpayer dollars squandered on waste and fraud, but they are so reflexively against anything that Trump does. Their lawsuits make them look like they favor financial abuse. What DOGE and Musk must have uncovered so far is really shocking Americans. 20% of government spending is wasted. Billions in misplaced funds. Americans, I think, are fed up with this and Trump is moving in their direction as the Supreme Court, I think, is not oblivious to that.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
A federal judge expressed skepticism of efforts seeking to bar President Donald Trump's administration from accessing federal data and firing federal workers when hearing remarks from the bench on Monday.
Judge Tanya Chutkan has yet to issue a ruling in the case, which relates to billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and their efforts to curb government spending. Chutkan says she will rule on the case within 24 hours.
At issue in the case are DOGE's actions within seven federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Education, Department of Labor, The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce.
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Attorneys general from 14 states argue Musk and Trump's administration have engaged in illegal executive overreach, but Chutkan says she wasn't convinced so far.
Separately, on Friday, a federal judge extended a temporary order blocking DOGE from accessing payment systems within the Treasury Department.
That extension came after 19 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit claiming DOGE illegally accessed the Treasury Department’s central payment system at the Trump administration’s behest.
This article was written by Fox News staff.
