OAKLAND, CA – California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 14 state attorneys general this week in a lawsuit challenging Elon Musk’s power in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to the AG Office statement.
Bonta and 13 other attorneys general claim Musk is operating with the power of a “principal officer of the United States,” which the AG charges requires Senate approval, and since there has been none, the Musk position is an unconstitutional violation.
AB Bonta, in the AG statement, said, “Elon Musk does not occupy a position that Congress created or that the Senate confirmed—Mr. Musk occupies a position the President made up. This is a clear and dangerous effort to bypass the nomination and confirmation process required under the Constitution.
“DOGE’s ransacking of federal agencies has sown tremendous chaos, instilled distrust among the American people, and has caused deeper harm to our country…like a bull in a China shop, Mr. Musk is wielding an enormous amount of illegitimized power over sensitive systems and important government programs that are vital to the American way of life.”
Attorney General Bonta’s Office stated, “Mr. Musk has unraveled federal agencies, accessed sensitive data, and caused widespread disruption” for governments and American systems.
They cited the billion-dollar funding disruption in “law enforcement, healthcare, education” and other services as harming states, including California.
By participating in the lawsuit, Bonta’s office notes California has joined the attorneys general of New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
The complaint copy is linked here, and the TRO request copy is here.
