Donald Trump’s Words Used Against Him in DOGE Lawsuit

President Donald Trump’s address to Congress shows that nobody knows who is running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a lawsuit against Elon Musk.

Newsweek sought email comment from DOGE, Elon Musk and the office of Attorney General, Pam Bondi, on Wednesday.

Why It Matters

Tesla CEO Musk was appointed as co-director of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE], but confusion remains about whether Musk is now its sole director.

Musk has said that DOGE will cut the federal budget by up to $2 trillion a year and over 200,000 federal workers have been laid off since Trump took office.

What To Know

In his joint address to Congress on March 4, Trump paid tribute to “the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE.”

He added: “Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.”

This was immediately seized upon by a nonprofit group called National Security Counselors [NSC] which states in a court filing that its mission is to represent “federal employees (including national security employees) in administrative and litigation matters, as well as engaging in litigation and public advocacy related to national security, accountability, and transparency.”

Through its lawyer, Jerald Lentini, it is suing President Trump, DOGE and Elon Musk, arguing that, by law, DOGE is a federal advisory committee, and therefore must have balanced membership, keep minutes, hold public meetings, file a charter and meet other legal requirements.

On March 4, NSC filed a “notice of new evidence” to Judge Jia M. Cobb in Washington, D.C. in which it states that Trump’s speech “demonstrates that expedited discovery is urgently needed to ascertain the nature of the Department of Government Efficiency and its relationship to the United States DOGE Service.”

The “notice of new evidence” is in addition to the plaintiffs’ amended complaint filed on February 13.

What People Are Saying

The plaintiffs claim that there is mass confusion about DOGE’s role within the federal government.

In their amended complaint on February 13, they rely on the words of Republican senator, James Lankford, a founding member of the Congressional DOGE caucus, who told Fox News on January 21: “DOGE is not a real department. It’s an idea. It’s an internal conversation within the White House. It’s Elon Musk actually trying to be able to drive a messaging piece to say, if we are going to be better with our tax dollars, to literally waste less and then spend less as well, then let’s start this idea. The Legislative Branch has got a thing, Executive Branch has got a thing, go do your thing.”

During his address to Congress on March 4, Trump acknowledged Elon Musk and DOGE for working on his election promise to slash spending: “Thank you Elon, you’re working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that.

“Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified: $22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens; $45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma [Myanmar]; $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants, nobody knows what that is; $8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of; $60 million for Indigenous peoples and Afro Colombian empowerment in Central America—$60 million.”

What Happens Next

Cobb has consolidated three similar cases together and will now consider NSC’s request for expedited discovery in the case. That could involve DOGE having to disclose internal documents to the plaintiffs.