In his first three weeks in office, President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders aimed at slashing federal spending, appointing SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk to lead efforts that critics widely denounce as unconstitutional.
Trump’s sweeping plans, which have effectively shuttered some federal agencies and sent staff home, have sparked legal battles across the country. Multiple lawsuits seek to halt what opponents characterize as an illegal power grab.
Musk’s team has moved aggressively through federal agencies, freezing aid programs and pushing workforce reductions through controversial buyout offers and termination threats.
Democrats, unions and activists, after initially struggling to respond, are now pursuing legal action and their numerous cases challenging Trump’s plans have drawn sharp criticism from the White House.
In a social media post Sunday, Vance argued that judges lack authority to “control the executive’s legitimate power,” comparing judicial intervention to a judge dictating military strategy to a general.
“Judicial tyranny is grossly improper!” Musk said, echoing the White House pushback.
Their comments followed a judge’s emergency order early Saturday blocking Musk’s government reform team from accessing millions of Americans’ personal and financial data stored at the Treasury Department.
Democratic attorneys general from 19 states filed that case Friday against the Republican president, the Treasury Department and the man who leads it, Scott Bessent.
