Law

A U.S. judge on Tuesday allowed a group of 14 states to move ahead with a lawsuit challenging Elon Musk's efforts to slash federal spending as the head of Donald Trump's new government efficiency agency, rejecting the Trump administration's effort to dismiss the case.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, however, dismissed the states' claims against Trump himself, saying her court would not try to interfere with "the performance of his official duties" as president.

The states' lawsuit could proceed against Musk and DOGE because it made a plausible claim that Musk's cost-cutting activities were "unauthorized by any law," according to Chutkan's ruling in Washington, D.C., federal court.