by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein at Politico
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday appeared poised to reject an effort to immediately bar Elon Musk and his allies from accessing data or causing firings across a broad swath of the federal government.
The judge said an effort by Democrat-led states lacked enough concrete evidence to justify that extraordinary restriction.
Chutkan, a Washington-based appointee of former President Barack Obama, agreed that Musk’s operations through the “Department of Government Efficiency” were taking place in troubling secrecy. And she acknowledged that DOGE is operating so swiftly that it is difficult to reach quick conclusions about the legality of its moves.
But the judge said granting the temporary restraining order sought as part of a lawsuit brought by Democratic attorneys general required much clearer evidence that DOGE’s actions were causing grave, permanent damage. Instead, she said, states had relied primarily on news reports that speculated about the risks of Musk and DOGE’s actions, some of which she said could potentially be remedied in further litigation.
“I’m not seeing it so far. … It’s sort of like a prophylactic TRO and that’s not allowed,” Chutkan said, adding that she hoped to issue a ruling within 24 hours. “The courts can’t act based on media reports. We can’t do that.”
The states argue that Musk’s influential role in the government violates