It is a victory for Elon Musk. An American federal judge on Tuesday rejected an emergency appeal aimed at preventing the Commission for Government Effectiveness (DOGE), to access the databases of federal agencies and to dismiss civil servants. A decision that marks a temporary success for the administration of Donald Trump, already faced with several legal actions against his initiatives.
On Monday, a judge had already rejected a similar appeal aimed at prohibiting the DOGE from accessing data from the Ministry of Education. The previous week, another court decision had restored a government program encouraging federal officials to resign.
No existence of damage
In this case, judge Tanya Chutkan, based in Washington, estimated that the complainants – fourteen states led by Democratic governors – had not proven the existence of “imminent and irreparable damage” justifying immediate intervention. However, these states denounce a violation of the Constitution, in particular on the rules of appointment to power positions, due to the vast prerogatives granted to Elon Musk and the Doge Commission.
The magistrate nevertheless recognizes the legitimacy of the concerns raised. “The complainants legitimately question what appears as the authority without control of an unadumped individual and an entity which was not created by the Congress and on which the latter has no supervision”, she underlines in her decision.
The White House minimizes the role of Elon Musk
The American executive seeks, for its part, to minimize the role of Elon Musk within the DOGE. “Mr. Musk is employed by the White House office. He is not an employee of Doge and is not the administrator, ”assured Joshua Fisher, director of the office of the executive administration.
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Created by Donald Trump’s presidential decree on January 20, the day of his inauguration, the DOGE Commission is officially responsible for “modernizing technology and federal software in order to maximize government efficiency and productivity”. A mission which, according to its detractors, could above all allow massive control of data and the functioning of the federal administration by a private player.
(tagstotranslate) United States