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From the Desk of Trevor Potter
Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a new lawsuit ([link removed]) urging a federal court to order Elon Musk and DOGE to immediately halt their illegal and unconstitutional activities. Under the direction of Elon Musk — an unelected billionaire and the president’s biggest donor — the so-called U.S. DOGE Service has usurped Congress’ authority over the federal budget and completely overstepped the bounds of the executive branch’s power.

After a careful review of existing court challenges, this suit takes the legal approach of arguing that DOGE's actions have gone beyond its incredibly limited scope of “modernizing Federal technology and software.” ([link removed]) We also argue that Elon Musk has directly violated the law by exercising significant authority in government.
President Trump should never have granted Musk the authority to decide how our government spends money — that is up to Congress. Once the federal budget has been allocated and it has become law, no one — not even the current president — has the power to simply ignore or undo these directions. Musk and his unvetted team of DOGE employees have virtually ignored this pillar of our system of checks and balances, threatening our government’s ability to serve the American people.

Our clients — the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA), the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) — are suing Musk and DOGE for abuses of power that include cuts to the federal budget, terminations of federal employees and threats to executive agencies.

These membership organizations include everyday Americans who face a wide array of hardships and harms based on the many ways the federal government touches their lives.

Thousands of students who rely on federal grants to access education are now unsure of their futures. Americans no longer have safe access to national parks and historical sites due to missing park rangers who have been fired. Scientists conducting life-saving research have been stopped in their tracks due to funding cuts.

Over the coming weeks, CLC will present concrete evidence in our case showing how Americans are experiencing direct harm as a result of Musk and DOGE’s unilateral and unconstitutional decision-making.

Americans of all political stripes believe government agencies should wisely spend money appropriated by Congress. Indeed, there is an entire congressional appropriations process for scrutinizing government expenditures and deciding what to fund and at what levels. However, what we are witnessing today is the use of unlawful tactics under the guise of cost-cutting ([link removed]) that defy the U.S. Constitution and, in many instances, appear to benefit Musk himself ([link removed]) .

In return for millions in campaign contributions, Musk gets to wield sweeping powers that can be used to help his own businesses ([link removed]) . Under normal circumstances, a high-ranking White House official like Musk would be subject to Senate confirmation and approval, but that also has been left by the wayside.

Americans are suffering needlessly at the hands of this reckless campaign, which, by many accounts, is doing little ([link removed]) to improve the stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Instead, DOGE’s actions have threatened the livelihood, well-being and safety of everyday Americans.

With the leaders of the congressional majority seemingly unwilling to defend Congress’s constitutional powers, it now falls to the judiciary to consider what we believe to be strong evidence of wrongdoing and mandate an immediate course correction that conforms with our nearly 250-year-old system of checks and balances.

Americans must be protected from this destructive and unconstitutional power grab, and that’s just what CLC’s lawsuit aims to do. With your support, ([link removed]) CLC will continue to fight on behalf of the American people.
Sincerely,

Trevor Potter
President, Campaign Legal Center

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