The Ministry of Governmental efficiency-the Agency for the Reducing Agency in the Trump Administration, headed by the billionaire employer Elon Musk-has developed hundreds of federal officials on the leave, obtained sensitive federal payment systems and led the charge to close federal agencies.

Reaction DodgeAs it is called, it was fast, as the legislators and the public ask whether the musk can reduce the size of the agencies, restructure or cancel the authorized agencies and funded by Congress.

The Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, for New York, wrote on X on February 3: “The unleashed shadow government is conducting an anti -federal government acquisition. Dog is not a real government agency. Dog has no authority to make spending decisions. Do not have any authority to close Programs or ignore federal law.

The unleashed shadow government is conducting an anti -federal government’s acquisition.

Dog is not a real government agency.
Dog has no power to make spending decisions.
Doj does not have any authority to close programs or ignore federal law.
Doug’s behavior cannot be …

Senschumer February 3, 2025

At a press conference the next day, Schumer said that the idea that Dog is illegally “is not discussed. It is an indisputable fact.”

Officially, the courts will decide whether this is indisputable or not.

Because this has not yet happened, we asked the White House about the constitutional or legal authority with which Dog is working. The White House was martyred, in a statement, with specific laws and not constitutional provisions. He said: “Those who lead this task with Elon Musk do this in complete compliance with federal law, appropriate security situations, and as employees in relevant agencies, and not as external advisers or entities.”

Here, we take a closer look at Schumer’s statements about Dog, his status and authority within the United States government.

Legal scientists and government operations experts said that they only see little in the constitution or American law to support the executive branch on its own to cancel what the Congress allowed and its financing.

“This is a question that has a very clear answer: Congress and Congress alone have the authority to enact credits measures,” said Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at North Carolina University. “The president does not have one -sided power to close the expenses, or tools funded by Congress, without the permission of Congress.”

Is Doug a real government agency?

Dog is not a traditional government agency; It is usually created by Congress with a task and a fixed amount of financing. On the contrary, the Doug’s budget and its employees are largely a mystery.

It was created by the Trump administration by Executive order On January 20, 2025.

The matter said that the official, who reports to the Chief of Staff of the White House, will head Doug and that his operations will stop on July 4, 2026. The matter determines “Doug teams” for at least four people within each federal agency.

The White House said that Musk is a “private government employee”, a government age group of contracts for a person working 130 days or less in one year. The private government employees may be paid or not to pay any of these groups in which Musk is included – and they must submit financial disclosures and adhere to the rules of ethics, including not involving themselves in matters that have financial interests (Musk companies, including Spacex and Tesla have received at least $ 15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade, the New York Times reported.

Do you have the power to make spending decisions?

The legal experts that we met were doubtful that it was legal for Doug to reduce the spending that was already allocated by Congress and its main signature.

One of the main obstacles to Dog is the constitution, specifically Article 1, which determines Congress and enables the legislative branch the appropriate funds. “No money from the cabinet will be extracted, but as a result of the credits provided by the law,” she says.

Moreover, Congress Sunnis, and Presidents have signed laws to reaffirm this principle. The 1974 reservation law established a detailed operation for what the president could do and cannot do when it disagreens about spending the money approved by Congress.

This law says if the executive authority wants to cancel spending, he must propose a reduction, known as “cancellation”. Spending cannot be stopped for more than 45 days as legislators are considered discounts.

“There are major issues related to the money that has been declared and allocated if they do not follow the reservation monitoring law,” said Bill Higlland, Senior Vice President of the Party Policy Center and Republican Assistant for a long time.

In recent years, the Supreme Court has prevented the executive branch from exceeding its approved authority from Congress, as is the case with President Joe Biden Try to tolerate the students ’loan debts.

“If Congress informs a department or agency they can organize, they can do so,” said Luis GJ Ferili III. “If Congress does not do, they will not be able to do so.”

Stephen Smith, a political world of Arizona State University, said that the Budget and Budget Office and the Ministry of Justice establish executive orders, after a procedure from John F. Kennedy in an executive order. “This process provides a review of the proposed executive orders that include their constitutionality and law,” said Smith. But given Trump’s speed around Dog, who was signed on the day he swore, and the flow of employees within the federal government, Smith said he had not seen any sign that Trump had followed this long process.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has claimed all the right to provide money – that is, refusing to spend the funds approved by Congress – and its opposite. By showing Operations for millions of federal employeesWith those who accept salaries until September 30, the administration has pledged to pay money that has not been allocated yet. Ferry said that the current federal financing was running out on March 14, but the promise to pay after that, “when there is no legal basis, it is illegal.”

Do you have the authority to close programs or ignore federal law?

Legal experts also believe that the same legal justification – set the constitution for the authority of the Congress, and subsequent laws – will prevent Duj from closing the entire agencies.

Under the current laws, such as the reservation monitoring law, “there are certainly cases in which the president can stop certain payments for certain reasons or for short periods,” said Frank or Bowman III, a law professor at Missouri University. “But it is quite clear that the president cannot constitutionally close, one -sided agency created from Congress and all its programs.” Trump works and appointed him to remove the US Agency for International Development (Usaid) The independent situation by folding the agency in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and pledging to get rid of most of its employees, and Trump promised during his campaign to close the Ministry of Education.

“The least evil version of what the administration is doing is, let’s play this in the courts and know whether we can obtain approval through the courts.” “If the matter ends with a series of lawsuits, as the administration tries to expand its powers and all the court issues, this is not outside the limits of our constitutional democracy.”

Legal experts said that Musk and Doge may move very quickly that the judicial branch would have difficulty stopping them even if the judges wanted.

Chris Edleson, a government professor at the American University, said that the administration could win if the minimum courts “do not make decisions quickly enough.” He could also win if judges decide to cancel a long -term precedent. “The Supreme Court says that the presidents are immune to criminal prosecution for” official actions ” – as the current court I did in 2024 – “It may also decide that the presidents should not adhere to other parts of the constitution.”

Can Congress stop Dog if he wants it? Is?

Insects, experts agree on Congress. But it is not incapable: Congress can pass a law that prohibits a Dog or at least some of its practices.

During the Watergate scandal of President Richard Nixon, as the Supreme Court moved strongly to restrict the presidential power, “Supporting Congress by the court by moving to his isolation,” said Edleson. “I don’t see any evidence that the Republican majority in Congress do that.”

For example, Senator Tom Telese, North Carolina, admitted that some musk behaviors may be unconstitutional, but “no one should be in that.” ))

David M. Dresnon, a law professor at the University of Sirkios, said that the comparison of Teles is wrong.

“There is no precedent for blocking funds in all fields due to the dispute of the widespread policy with the law,” Drienn said. “This is a front attack on the legislative authority of Congress.”

If the legislators do not challenge Dog, by passing new laws or going to court, they risk losing the powers held by Congress for two and a half centuries. Dreson and other legal experts said that the judges may consider the absence of opposition in Congress, as they decide the cases in this question.

“It should not matter at all the issue of a constitutional law,” said Bowman, a law professor. “But I think that for some judges, silence may carry some weight.”