Donald Trump Sued Over DOGE Plan With Elon Musk As Head Minutes After Taking Presidential Oath: Report
Date
1/20/2025 7:00:47 PM
(MENAFN- Live Mint) A union representing thousands of federal employees in the United States on January 20 sued the newly-inaugurated Donald trump government over its plans to form the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) headed by billionaire Elon Musk.
The lawsuit kicks off a high-stakes legal stand-off over President Trump's plans to slash government spending. The lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and government watchdog groups Public citizen and State Democracy Defenders Fund was one of three cases filed as Trump was sworn in the 47th US President in Washington DC on Monday, Bloomberg reported.
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The AFGE case claims that the initiative violates a 1972 US law requiring checks on conflicts of interest, ideological balance and transparency for groups with a direct line to the White House.
Trump administration has projected DOGE as a cornerstone of its plans to streamline government operations. Donald Trump and Elon Musk's plan to save $2 trillion has given rise to job loss fears. Most experts believe the DOGE is unrealistic without deep cuts to crucial social services or benefits.
Earlier, Trump took oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, using both a family Bible and President Abraham Lincoln's Bibl . Vice President JD Vance was sworn in earlier by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, holding a family heirloom Bible. Trump took the oath as US President for the second time, surrounded by wife Melania Trump and their children.
The federal employees union wrote in its case that the Federal Advisory Committee Act features“guardrails” to stop groups“from turning into vehicles for advancing private interests in the federal decision-making process and secretly influencing federal officials' exercise of policymaking discretion,” Bloomberg said in its report.
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