New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is leading a multi-state legal challenge against what he calls an unconstitutional transfer of government authority to billionaire Elon Musk.
The lawsuit, backed by 14 states, argues that President Donald Trump violated the U.S. Constitution by granting Musk sweeping executive powers without congressional approval.
On a press call with other attorneys general yesterday, Torrez said Musk’s tech industry approach is damaging the nation.
“Moving fast and breaking things may work in Silicon Valley for a tech company. It's not good governance and it's unconstitutional. It became apparent to us that we needed to take a comprehensive approach to stop this activity,”
Torrez said.
Torrez and his fellow AGs claim Musk’s unchecked authority has allowed him to override federal agencies, access sensitive data, and make drastic funding cuts to key programs without oversight.
They argue that this move sidesteps the Senate’s role in confirming top government officials and threatens the balance of power.
AG Torrez said that Trump’s deployment of Musk shows that the president doesn’t have faith in his own governing power.
“ His fear, I guess, of going to Congress and using the proper legal and constitutional tools available to him, I think, demonstrate a fundamental weakness in his position," Torrez said.
"If he has the kind of strength that he believes he has, he shouldn't have a problem advancing his agenda through Congress, which is the proper and appropriate and constitutional way to affect change in this country.”
Torrez said he was particularly concerned about the security of New Mexico’s two labs—Sandia and Los Alamos—since both are overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The attorneys general are seeking an immediate court ruling to block Musk’s authority and undo the decisions made under his leadership.
