President Donald Trump’s efforts to put the federal government on an “Ozempic diet” appeared Supreme Court-bound as a Washington, D.C. lawfare judge called for a holiday hearing.
(Video: Fox News)
Under the pretense of fear over Elon Musk having access to data across the executive branch, Democrats continued to utilize every weapon in their arsenal to obstruct the Department of Government Efficiency from exposing waste of U.S. taxpayer money.
As 14 state attorneys general had filed suit together in one of the many legal challenges against DOGE, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had announced a hearing for 11 a.m. Monday, despite courts being closed for the Presidents Day holiday.
Known for presiding over the president’s alleged federal election interference case brought by then-Special Counsel Jack Smith, Chutkan slated the Zoom hearing as New Mexico led 13 other Democratic attorneys general in attempting to keep the president’s advisory team from accessing information at the Departments of Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Labor and Transportation, as well as the Office of Personnel Management.
Chutkan had argued the states were “essentially asking [her] to shut down the government” as “The temporary restraining order proposed would block access to critical government systems for a two-week period.”
Judge Chutkan (who reminded lawyers Friday that she works weekends) has called a President’s Day hearing to potentially resolve the emergency motion by states to enjoin Elon Musk and DOGE’s operations. pic.twitter.com/3Or1TE9yU3
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 16, 2025
In the court filing for New Mexico v. Elon Musk, the plaintiffs argued, “Although our constitutional system was designed to prevent the abuses of an 18th century monarch, the instruments of unchecked power are no less dangerous in the hands of a 21st century tech baron.”
Joining “Fox & Friends” guest co-host Kayleigh McEnany Monday, Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett decried the leftist logic that challenged the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution as he said, “You know the meltdown…is amusing, because presidents have broad authority under Article II of the Constitution to govern and control agencies and departments in the executive branch; how much money is spent; hiring, firing, auditing for fraud, waste and abuse. So Trump is exercising a core responsibility. He’s serving the public’s interest. That’s his solemn duty.”
“The legal question becomes can he delegate that power to Musk and DOGE,” remarked the analyst.
On that matter, Jarrett suggested Chutkan’s ruling was going to result in a Supreme Court showdown for the administration where, “Ultimately, I think the Supreme Court will weigh in and that’s where Trump will prevail. The law is on his side.”
Among the myriad obstructionist legal challenges currently facing the president, Trump’s team had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court Sunday seeking the jurists’ intercession on his administration’s termination of Hampton Dellinger from the Office of Special Counsel, the Associated Press reported.
A temporary restraining order had prevented the termination, and an appeals court had refused to lift the order, set to expire on Feb. 26, on procedural grounds. Action from the Supreme Court was not expected any earlier than Tuesday after the holiday weekend.
Meanwhile, Jarrett spoke to the broader objective of Trump through Musk and DOGE as he told McEnany, “Look, our federal bureaucracy, Kayleigh, is the definition of bloated. Isn’t it about time that a president had the courage to put the government on an Ozempic diet. There are too many inept bureaucrats doing too little.”
