The Old Blog in the Desert

In a turn of events as predictable as a rooster’s crow at dawn, a gaggle of attorneys general from 14 states, including Nevada’s Aaron Ford, have taken offense at the notion that billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) might try to make the government more efficient.

The horror.

These esteemed guardians of bureaucracy have filed a lawsuit, hollering that Musk is exercising “virtually unchecked power” by daring to peek behind the curtain of federal agencies and—heaven forbid—root out waste, fraud, and abuse. The notion of a government official who isn’t asleep at his desk has sent them into a tizzy.

Their lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., insists that only a Senate-confirmed official can do the work Musk is doing. As every good Washington insider knows, nothing improves efficiency like adding a few hundred politicians to the process. The attorneys general are demanding that Musk stop giving orders outside of DOGE, identify how he’s been using “unauthorized” data, and essentially stop embarrassing the government by pointing out how much taxpayer money is vanishing into the ether.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel took to the internet to declare their righteous indignation, flanked by colleagues from Arizona and New Mexico. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, not one to miss a good bout of pearl-clutching, fumed, “Musk’s actions are illegal, and we will stop them.”

That’s right, folks—after decades of government waste, someone is finally taking action, and the first response is to sue.

Musk, for his part, appears to be having the time of his life, storming through federal agencies, poking into budgets, and suggesting that some departments—like that drawer full of expired ketchup packets in your fridge—might best be thrown out entirely. The tech mogul even went so far as to suggest “deleting entire agencies,” which sent bureaucrats into a panic not seen since the invention of the time clock.

Democratic attorneys general warn that Musk’s meddling might disrupt the delicate art of government waste, particularly at agencies like the IRS and CDC—because nothing says efficiency like tax forms that require a degree in hieroglyphics and public health guidance that changes more often than a teenager’s mood.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez decried Musk’s actions, saying Trump is showing “weakness” by using a businessman rather than just pushing reforms through Congress. Yes, because waiting on Congress to fix inefficiency is like expecting a turtle to win a footrace against a racehorse.

Whether Musk’s crusade will succeed or if the government will wrangle him into submission remains to be seen. Washington hasn’t been this ruffled since someone suggested reading the Constitution before passing a new law.