A trickle of lawsuits against Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have become a flood.
Fourteen states filed suit in federal court on Thursday, accusing President Donald Trump of illegally delegating executive powers to Musk in violation of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The clause requires high-level presidential appointees be vetted and approved by Congress; Musk was not.
“As a result,” the complaint reads, ”[Trump] has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed the suit along with his counterparts in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont.
The 64-page document frames the argument in historical terms, describing Musk as a “21st century tech baron” not unlike the 18th century monarchs the U.S. Constitution’s framers so desperately wanted to escape.
“Musk’s seemingly limitless and unchecked power to strip the government of its workforce and eliminate entire departments with the stroke of a pen or click of a mouse would have been shocking to those who won this country’s independence,” the suit reads.
“The sweeping authority now vested in a single unelected and unconfirmed individual is antithetical to the nation’s entire constitutional structure.”
Trump told reporters Thursday that he’s personally ensuring Musk steers clear of any conflicts of interest while he’s in his role.
But asked by a reporter during an Oval Office press conference if Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a CEO or as a representative of the U.S. government, Trump was unable to answer.
“Uh, I don’t know!” he replied. “They met. And I assume he wants to do business in India.”
The state-led effort is the second such lawsuit filed against Elon Musk Thursday.
Nearly two dozen federal workers also sued in federal court in Maryland, accusing Musk of holding an unconstitutional high-level position with almost no oversight.
At least eight additional lawsuits targeting DOGE are also slowly making their way through the courts. Three target the formation of DOGE itself, one seeks private records between the Office of Management and Budget and DOGE, and the four remaining suits all stem from DOGE’s actions at various federal agencies last week.