State Officials End Case Over Elon Musk’s US Government Role (1)

A group of Democratic state attorneys general dropped one of the last remaining legal fights over whether President Donald Trump unlawfully delegated too much power to Elon Musk during the months the billionaire served within the administration.

The officials filed a notice Monday evening in federal court in Washington notifying a judge that they were withdrawing their case, which was filed in February. The early flurry of lawsuits challenging Musk’s authority and his Department of Government Efficiency cost-slashing project have largely petered out after he left in the spring.

The state attorneys didn’t offer a reason to the judge, but the Arizona attorney general’s office said that they ended the case because Musk “has abandoned the project and its mission has essentially collapsed.

“During its brief existence, DOGE accomplished nothing more than chaos and destruction across the federal government,” Richie Taylor, a spokesman for the office, said in a statement. “We are proud to have sued to prevent the worst of the chaos and destruction unleashed by the Trump administration, and we will not hesitate to take action against any future attempts to bypass or undermine the law.”

A judge denied the government’s request to have the states’ lawsuit dismissed in late May, finding that the administration had appeared to endorse a “perverse reading” of the US Constitution’s system of checks and balances and appeared “to sanction unlimited executive power.” But then the case lay largely dormant for months, until the judge asked for an update on whether there was any remaining “live controversy” to resolve.

Read More: Musk Must Face Suit Over Power as Trump Aide, Judge Says

Spokespeople for Musk’s companies and a White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

There are still two active cases that accuse Musk of taking on the powers of a Senate-confirmed official and playing an active role in directing firings and program cuts at US agencies in violation of the US Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

There’s another challenge to Musk’s authority still pending in Washington. The lawsuit was brought by advocacy groups that alleged Musk and DOGE staffers were instrumental in cutting federal programs that harmed their interests. On Monday, attorneys for those organizations told a judge that they wanted to proceed because DOGE’s formal status and the whereabouts of employees affiliated with the project were unknown.

The Justice Department contends any constitutional challenges related to Musk are now moot and expressed doubt that there were any other valid, live claims remaining.

In Maryland, a lawsuit brought by employees of the now-dissolved US Agency for International Development has been moving forward after a judge denied the government’s bid to have it tossed out. In November, the Justice Department asked a judge to block lawyers for the challengers from deposing Musk and two former senior USAID officials.

The case is New Mexico v. Musk, 25-cv-429, US District Court, District of Columbia.

(Updates with comment from the Arizona attorney general’s office.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Zoe Tillman in Washington at ztillman2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Peter Blumberg, Anthony Aarons

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