A Barack Obama-appointed federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its senior advisor Elon Musk to reveal plans for downsizing the government.
Anti-Trump U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is demanding that DOGE identify all federal employees who are facing the chop.
The directives from Judge Chutkan come as 14 Democrat state attorneys general are suing Trump, Musk, and DOGE.
The Democrat prosecutors are arguing that Musk is unconstitutionally wielding power, according to Politico.
No Republican prosecutors have made such allegations, however.
Chutkan gave Musk and DOGE three weeks to produce the information.
The report noted that the information ultimately will help the judge decide whether to block DOGE’s operations altogether.
The ruling issued Wednesday requires Musk and DOGE to, among other directives, “Produce all DOGE and DOGE Temporary Organization planning, implementation, and operational documents.”
The documents requested must concern:
- eliminating or reducing the size of federal agencies
- terminating employment of federal employees or placing such employees on leave
- canceling, freezing, or pausing federal contracts, grants, or other federal funding.
The judge is also demanding that the Trump administration:
“Produce all DOGE and DOGE Temporary Organization planning, implementation, and operational documents regarding obtaining access, using, or making changes to federal databases or data management systems.
“Identify every individual serving as DOGE personnel.
“For each person, identify (1) their title; (2) whether they are part of a DOGE Team at an agency, and if so, what agency; (3) all individuals to whom they directly report; and (4) who hired them.
“Produce all documents containing lists, charts, or summaries that DOGE personnel or Musk have created, compiled, or edited reflecting the planned or completed cancellation of federal contracts, grants, or other legal agreements.”
The directives also call for admissions that “Elon Musk has directed actions of DOGE personnel.”
Chutkan is demanding evidence that “Elon Musk is not supervised by any Officer of the United States other than the President of the United States.”
The White House has yet to issue a statement in response.
In her decision, Chutkan said:
“The burden to Defendants is minimized by the narrow time period for responsive materials, the exclusion of electronic communications, explicitly exempting President Trump from the requests, extending Defendants’ time to respond, and denying Plaintiffs’ request to notice depositions.”
In her order, the judge added:
“Plantiffs’ Discovery Requests shall be limited to information and materials regarding agencies, employees, contracts, grants, federal funding, legal agreements, databases, or data management systems that involve or engage with Plaintiff States; including entities and institutions operated or funded by Plaintiff States.”
READ MORE – DOGE Cancels Over 200,000 Taxpayer-Funded Federal Government Credit Cards
