US judge won't block Elon Musk from firing federal workers, accessing data

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A judge on Tuesday declined to immediately block an entity formed by President Donald Trump and spearheaded by Elon Musk from directing firings of federal workers or accessing databases for seven agencies, but said the case raises legitimate questions about Musk's apparent unchecked authority.

Washington-based U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied - for now - a request by more than a dozen states for a judicial order barring the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from accessing computer systems at federal agencies or purging government workers while litigation plays out. 

Musk, the world's wealthiest person, spearheads DOGE, which has taken the lead role in carrying out the Republican president's plans for downsizing and overhauling the federal government. 

In her decision, Chutkan wrote that the states "legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual and an entity that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight." But the judge said the states had not shown why they were entitled to an immediate restraining order. 

Chutkan could eventually rule in favor of the states but said in her ruling that their request for an emergency court order was too broad and speculative.

Democratic attorneys general from the states that sued argued that the actions of DOGE had put the ability of those states to carry out educational and other programs at risk. 

The states have argued that Musk wields the kind of power that can be exercised only by an officer of the government who has been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate under language in the U.S. Constitution called the Appointments Clause. They also have said DOGE itself has not been authorized by Congress.

The lawsuit seeks to bar DOGE from accessing information systems at the departments of labor, education, health and human services, energy, transportation and commerce, and at the Office of Personnel Management.

The states also asked Chutkan, who was appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama, to prevent Musk and his DOGE team members from firing federal employees or putting them on leave.

The lawsuit accused Musk's team of unlawfully accessing data at federal agencies and directing a purge of the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce. It was filed by more than a dozen states and announced by state attorneys general from New Mexico, Michigan and Arizona. 

Representatives for the White House and for the attorneys general did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

DOGE has swept through federal agencies, slashing thousands of jobs and dismantling various programs, since Trump returned to office last month and put Musk in charge of rooting out what they see as wasteful spending as part of the president's dramatic overhaul of government.

An attorney for the administration told Chutkan on February 14 that he had not been able to confirm mass government layoffs took place.

Around 20 lawsuits have been filed in various federal courts challenging Musk's authority, which have led to mixed results.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in New York extended a temporary block on DOGE on Friday that prevented Musk's team from accessing Treasury systems responsible for trillions of dollars of payments.

But also on Friday, U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington declined a request by unions and nonprofits to temporarily block Musk's team from accessing records at the departments of Labor, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Most of the judges handling DOGE cases have not yet issued rulings.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Jack Queen in New York; Additional reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Michael Perry and Will Dunham)