They argued that under the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution, Musk needed to be confirmed by the Senate in order to exercise his authority.
The judge agreed, saying that allowing Musk to continue to wield enormous power over the government “would open the door to an end-run around the Appointments Clause” and reduce it to “nothing more than a technical formality.”
Chuang said the actions by Musk and DOGE had violated the authority of Congress to decide when and how to close down USAID, where most of the workers have been placed on leave or fired since January. The agency was created by Congress in 1961.