25 Feb 2025

Judge Questions Whether DOGE is Operating Unconstitutionally

by Bonnie | | 0

Federal District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly expressed concerns that DOGE may be operating in unconstitutional ways.

The Department of Government Efficiency is a subset of a White House IT team, not a government department. It has been invading sensitive IT systems, firing thousands of federal civil servants and making large cuts to spending, including cutting off Congressionally appropriate funding flows.

Kollar-Kotelly held a hearing of almost three hours about a lawsuit over DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s sensitive systems that control a large portion of federal payments. She repeatedly asked the Department of Justice who is in charge of DOGE and could only get the answer that DOJ’s attorney did not know. She cited several statements by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the White House that indicate DOGE is led by Elon Musk, contrary to one denial by Trump.

She said DOGE may be contrary to the Constitution’s appointments clause, which requires Senate confirmation of the leadership of federal agencies.

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