Oregon Joins Landmark Lawsuit Challenging Elon Musk’s DOGE Appointment and Federal Overreach

Oregon has joined a long list of other states fighting the ‘unconstitutional’ new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the appointment of Elon Musk without electoral support.

AG Dan Rayfield Joins Lawsuit with 11 Other States

On Thursday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined 11 other state AGs in a lawsuit claiming that President Donald Trump has violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit says DOGE, a new federal department, was created without Congressional approval and that its new head, Elon Musk, was appointed without Congressional consent.

The lawsuit contends that Musk and the Trump administration have jeopardized critical services like education, healthcare, and law enforcement by putting at risk billions of dollars of federal funding.

Musk Has Caused Widespread Disruption

The AGs claim that Musk has caused widespread disruption of state and local governments by accessing sensitive data and hindering federal agencies.

Referring to DOGE agents accessing American citizens’ personal and sensitive tax records and banking information, Rayfield says Musk’s attempt to ‘demolish key government systems has thrown everything into chaos’ and increased the risk of foreign exploitation and cyber-attacks.

‘No one should be able to mess with the systems that keep our country running,’ says Rayfield.

The 12 state AGs want a court ruling declaring Musk’s actions unconstitutional. They also want him barred from issuing orders to people not employed by DOGE. Finally, they want an injunction to invalidate all of Musk’s previous actions.

Musk Has Ridiculed Criticism of DOGE

The Trump administration created the Department of Government Efficiency to discover and eliminate ‘wasteful government spending’. Meanwhile, Musk has ridiculed criticism of DOGE on X (formerly known as Twitter), claiming the department will save taxpayers millions of dollars.

The lawsuit was filed by the AGs of Oregon, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.