Obama-nominated judge allows lawsuit targeting Musk’s role with DOGE to proceed, drops claims against Trump

An Obama-appointed federal judge has largely rejected the Trump administration’s request for the dismissal of a DOGE-related legal challenge, though she did dismiss President Donald Trump as a defendant, while otherwise allowing the wranglings to proceed.

“Defendants seek to dismiss President Trump as a defendant because the court may not enjoin the President in the performance of his official duties,” a memorandum opinion notes, adding, “The court agrees.”

The memorandum opinion and order are signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at the National Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on May 26, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

“Defendants’ motion to dismiss Count I against President Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States, is GRANTED. Defendants’ motion to dismiss Count I against all other defendants and Count II is DENIED,” the order declares.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Justice Department spokesperson said, “This Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s ability to conduct official duties and will continue to do so whenever those actions are challenged in federal court.”

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More than a dozen states lodged a legal challenge regarding Elon Musk’s work on Trump’s DOGE cost-cutting initiative earlier this year. 

“This Court should restore constitutional order and, consistent with the Appointments Clause, enjoin Mr. Musk from issuing orders to any person in the Executive Branch outside of DOGE and otherwise engaging in the actions of an officer of the United States, and declare that his actions to date are ultra vires and of no legal effect,” the complaint filed in February declared.

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After heavily focusing on the effort, Musk later noted that he planned to reduce how much time he spends on it. 

Last week he declared in a tweet, “Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” noting that he needed to focus on various business endeavors.

“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized,” he noted on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post. “I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.”