As Elon Musk leaves his formal US government position, dozens of legal challenges over the billionaire’s powerful role in the Trump administration and the work of the Department of Government Efficiency will press ahead.
Musk announced his departure earlier this week. At a White House press conference with President Donald Trump Friday, Musk said he’d continue to be a “friend and an adviser.” He didn’t elaborate on what that would entail.
At least three lawsuits are pending that accuse Trump of unconstitutionally handing the Tesla Inc. and SpaceX chief executive officer the equivalent of a cabinet-level post over the past four months. The challengers behind those cases are vowing to continue those fights.
“The case is absolutely relevant,” said Anjana Samant, a senior lawyer in the New Mexico Department of Justice, which is leading a group of states in one of the challenges.
The Democratic state attorneys want a judge to invalidate actions they contend Musk unlawfully took to upend federal government operations and to declare that the DOGE project has gone far beyond what US law allows.
The larger collection of lawsuits challenging Musk and DOGE activities to date are certain to continue. They include fights over DOGE access to Americans’ personal information, whether the office is subject to public records laws and its role in canceling federal grants and contracts, dismantling agencies and firing workers.
Hours after Musk and Trump appeared together in the White House, a federal appeals court handed the administration another DOGE-related loss. In a 2-1 order, an appellate panel left in place a lower court order that blocks the administration from carrying out mass layoffs across the US government.
Read More: Musk Departs US Government With His Business Empire in Flux
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields declined to comment on the administration’s next steps in the various court cases, but said government lawyers “will continue to fight every single frivolous lawsuit that is brought our way.”
A Justice Department spokesperson and Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment. The Justice Department has represented Musk and DOGE in court and would be expected to continue defending against allegations related to government work.
Musk recently had criticized Trump’s tax cut proposal but he and Trump praised each other during Friday’s press event in the Oval Office. He also slammed the wave of…
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