Nevada joins lawsuit challenging Musk, DOGE

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford joined a lawsuit Thursday challenging “the unlawful delegation of executive power” to billionaire Elon Musk, his office said in a news release.

The lawsuit argues that Musk — the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, X and other companies — gained an unconstitutional level of power through his unelected role as the leader of a new government entity, the Department of Government Efficiency. The attorneys contend that Musk’s actions violate the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which ensures that executive appointments are subject to congressional oversight and Senate confirmation.

“The Trump administration has handed unchecked power over the federal government to an unelected and unvetted businessman who considers himself above the law,” Ford said in a press release. “As much as they would like us to believe otherwise, this is not a discussion about federal government spending. This is a discussion about the rule of law and the assurance to Nevadans that the federal government will not actively work to make their lives worse. Musk’s actions are illegal, and we will stop them.”

The lawsuit points to Musk and his associates gaining access to sensitive materials in dozens of federal agencies without security clearance. It argues that though he is considered a “special government employee” and has not been confirmed by the Senate, he “continues to assert the powers of ‘an officer of the United States.’”

Ford joins attorneys general from New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington as plaintiffs.

The attorneys general are seeking a court ruling that declares Musk’s actions unconstitutional and injunction barring him from issuing orders to anyone in the executive branch outside of DOGE, as well as invalidating his previous actions.

This is not the only lawsuit challenging Musk — and DOGE’s — authority. Ford joined another lawsuit filed with 18 other attorneys general on Feb. 7 that sought to stop the agency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information. The judge in that case temporarily blocked DOGE personnel from accessing Treasury Department records the following day. The case’s first hearing is set for Friday.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.