Despite Chutkan denying states request for an immediate restraint, she says their "larger case against Musk is strong" [View all]

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Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett @RepJasmine
The Rapid Response team is here to break down what Judge Chutkan’s Ruling meant… while also learning that according to Trump… ELON is just a lap dog with no power 🤯.

I need the names of the people doing the firings and shutting the money off, then…

Link to tweet

___Judge Chutkan said that the states hadn’t shown “that they will suffer imminent, irreparable harm absent a temporary restraining order.”

But the judge also indicated she was skeptical about the Trump administration’s statements about Musk and his powers in DOGE...

“The court is aware that DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion for Plaintiffs and many of their agencies and residents,” she wrote in the 10-page ruling. “It remains ‘uncertain’ when and how the catalog of state programs that Plaintiffs identify will suffer.”

Chutkan went on to say that even though the states’ larger case against Musk is “strong,” their arguments at this stage in the litigation were not good enough to satisfy the standard that must be met to warrant emergency action by the court.

A fiery footnote from Chutkan highlighted seeming contradictions between those assertions and Trump’s executive orders creating DOGE, which connected DOGE to agency personnel decisions.

“Defense counsel is reminded of their duty to make truthful representations to the court,” she wrote.



https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/18/politics/doge-temporary-restraining-order-chutkan/index.html

___Though she stopped short of issuing the restraining order, Chutkan wrote that she thought the plaintiffs have raised a “colorable Appointments Clause claim with serious implications,” noting that Musk hasn’t been nominated by Trump or confirmed by the Senate, which is required for officers who exercise significant governmental authority.

“Musk has rapidly taken steps to fundamentally reshape the Executive Branch,” Chutkan wrote. Yet she also noted that “even a strong merits argument cannot secure a temporary restraining order at this juncture.”

The key phrase there being “at this juncture.”

So while the plaintiffs failed to win temporary relief, they might succeed later in this litigation and secure a more lasting victory against what Chutkan acknowledged is the billionaire’s bid to fundamentally reshape the government.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/how-elon-musk-and-doge-s-temporary-win-from-judge-chutkan-could-turn-into-a-loss/ar-AA1znFqH