A former Associate White House Counsel and legal scholar asserts that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not a legitimate department at all, and as such is completely unconstitutional.

Alan Charles Raul, former Associate White House Counsel and Lecturer at Harvard Law School, has published an opinion piece in The Washington Post, laying out the legal questions surrounding DOGE.

Raul argues that: “The Constitution is well known to interpose meaningful checks and balances and a separation of powers among the responsibilities of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. It is also well understood that the respective branches’ powers and duties intersect and overlap. Fundamentally, however, all legislative power belongs to Congress, and executive power to the president. The judiciary steps in when the parameters of shared authority get complicated or confusing and constitutional lines are crossed.”

The actions taken by DOGE political appointees violate the U.S. Constitution. Raul points out that “the radical reorganization now underway is not just footfaulting over procedural lines; it is shattering the fundamental checks and balances of our constitutional order. The DOGE process, if that is what it is, mocks two basic tenets of our government: that we are a nation of laws, not men, and that it is Congress which controls spending and passes legislation. The president must faithfully execute Congress’s laws and manage the executive agencies consistent with the Constitution and lawmakers’ appropriations — not by any divine right or absolute power.”

The attorneys general of 14 states have filed a lawsuit against DOGE, arguing that its powers are indeed unconstitutional. That lawsuit is currently pending, meanwhile other lawsuits are also being filed against DOGE. “The attorneys general argue that Trump violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution by creating DOGE — an unofficial government agency — without congressional approval and by granting Musk ‘sweeping powers’ without seeking the advice and consent of the Senate through a confirmation hearing,” according to NBC News.

“‘President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities,’ the lawsuit reads. ‘As a result, he has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers.'”

United States historians, legal historians, constitutional lawyers, and political scientists are all weighing in on the unconstitutional nature of the so-called DOGE organization. I aim to post additional links to scholars’ analyses soon.

Alan Charles Raul’s opinion piece is published as “Why DOGE is unconstitutional” in The Washington Post.

NBC News reports on the lawsuit by 14 states against DOGE.