President Trump and Elon Musk might be able to ignore the squawking of Democrats in Congress and the press, but they can’t ignore the courts.
Two judges weighed in Thursday to temporarily hold up the effort by Messrs. Trump and Musk to shake up the government. Whether those court orders become permanent will depend on the law.
About 60,000 federal workers have reportedly accepted a buyout offer emailed last week, agreeing to “deferred resignation” on Sept. 30. Unions representing government staff argue this breaks the law. Federal Judge George O’Toole Jr. on Thursday paused the buyouts until the legal questions can be heard next week. “I make no assessment at this stage of the merits of the claims,” he said at a brief hearing.
Separately, federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued an order Thursday limiting access to Treasury Department systems by a parachute team from Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Unions and an advocacy group had sought a restraining order, arguing that this arrangement violates federal privacy law and also jeopardizes sensitive payment information, including for retirees getting Social Security.
While deferring a broader decision, Judge Kollar-Kotelly signed a temporary order, “with the consent of the parties,” to restrict Treasury’s ability to let outsiders peruse the checkbook. Two “special government employees” at Treasury who are affiliated with DOGE may continue their work, provided that their “access to payment records will be ‘read only.’” Ruling on a preliminary injunction to follow.
The American legal system has a good track record for sorting out such disputes, which is one reason not to panic every time Mr. Musk sneezes in the direction of another agency. If he and Mr. Trump want their economizing to stick, their actions must be legally defensible. If not, the two men will achieve much less than their frenetic energy suggests.
