The chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has called for a “wave of judicial impeachments” in response to recent court rulings that have hampered Trump administration projects. Musk responded to a decision by U.S. District Judge John Bates with comments on his social networking site, X. Musk criticized the judgment, claiming a conflict of interest, and Judge Bates ordered the restoration of government health datasets that had been deleted.
Reuters
This decision followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that prohibited the government from promoting “gender ideology.” Judge Bates agreed with progressive physicians’ organization Doctors for America, which claimed that the databases’ removal was illegal under federal law.
Reuters
In a different lawsuit, Musk pushed for the removal of a different federal judge who had temporarily prevented DOGE from accessing data from the Treasury Department. A preliminary injunction prohibiting DOGE from accessing Treasury records that contain the personal financial information of millions of Americans was ordered by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer. Additionally, DOGE was required by the order to destroy any such records it had obtained since January 20.
A NEWSWEEK
President Trump has voiced his displeasure with various court rulings, especially those that impede DOGE’s attempts to find and fix government inefficiencies. He questioned the justification for court rulings that, in his opinion, force the government to make payments in spite of fraud and waste proof on his Truth Social platform.
AP News
There are Republican politicians who are responding to these developments. Arizona Representative Eli Crane declared that he had written articles of impeachment against Judge Engelmayer, alleging that he had blocked access to crucial Treasury Department systems, so thwarting DOGE’s authority.
Reuters
In another story, President Trump is trying to fire Ellen Weintraub, the chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), but she is fighting back. On January 31, Weintraub, who has been on the FEC since 2002, received a letter from the President announcing her dismissal. She has openly questioned whether this action was legitimate, claiming that the proper process for removing FEC commissioners was not followed in this case.
POLITICAL
As the Trump administration works to implement its policy agenda, these incidents highlight the growing hostilities between the executive branch and the court as well as independent federal agencies.