Will Chamberlain of The Article III Project told American Family Radio Monday that Elon Musk is acting within constitutional grounds with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
A budding friendship emerged between Musk and Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign. Now, the billionaire tech and energy entrepreneur and DOGE are leading an unprecedented attack on waste and excessive spending within the government through the elimination of contracts and the termination of thousands of federal jobs.
The federal spending empire has struck back with lawsuits challenging DOGE's access to sensitive data and Musk's authority in general.
"This is pretty clearly constitutional," Chamberlain told show host Jenna Ellis.
Just another advisor
Chamberlain pointed out that Musk is an advisor, like any other member of the administration who shares opinions. He does not think people understand that at the end of the day, the president can choose to listen to him or ignore him.
"Elon isn't firing these people; he's an advisor," the attorney explained. "It's not obvious how the White House manages these agencies, but the White House has a lot of senior advisors who work for it, some temporary but some permanent."
When it comes to DOGE, Musk speaks with Trump's authority – until the president says differently.
"When they speak with heads of agencies, even though they're not Senate appointed, they're above the heads of the agencies because they're speaking with the voice of the president," Chamberlain said. "He's effecting the will of President Trump."
In response to the department's proposed cuts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) posted on X last month that "an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government."
He has indicated that Democrats will push for language in spending bills that will curb Musk's authority.
Chamberlain calls it a weak angle.
"It's totally uncontroversial to have the White House telling these cabinet agencies what they want those cabinet agencies to do," he told Ellis. "Those conversations are not always had with the president, whose time is unbelievably scarce."
However, there are signs of confusion within the government, even with some of Trump's strongest supporters like new FBI Director Kash Patel, who has told FBI employees not to respond to a DOGE email requesting five things their jobs entail.
"When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses," Patel wrote in an email to employees. "For now, please pause any responses."
He cited privacy and security concerns and noted that agencies have their own processes for evaluating employees, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Trump has backed Musk, writing on Truth Social that he would like to see Musk be more "aggressive" with proposed cuts.
Democrats have followed Schumer's lead.
More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Department of Treasury building in early February chanting, "Elon Musk has got to go."
But in a Fox News appearance over the weekend, Trump continued to praise the work that DOGE is doing. Many of the complaints against Musk's work there are coming from people who are benefitting from the wasteful spending, Trump said.
"He's found hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of fake contracts," he relayed. "I read them, just a tiny portion of them the other night. You'll find ultimately that the money that they sent comes back to a lot of the people that made those deals."
High Court slows down DOGE
Last week, the Supreme Cort ruled against Trump's attempt to cut $50 billion in foreign aid through the embattled USAID, spending DOGE says does not align with the president's policies.
After the White House froze the funds, a district court judge delayed the freeze and greenlighted the spending. Now, with a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court has sent the case back to the district court for clarification.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday announced that 83% of USAID programs have been cut, with the remainder falling under the State Department.
Chamberlain believes the court will eventually back the efforts of DOGE and Trump to cut spending, as it is well within the executive's authority.
"If there are very specific allocations made by Congress, then he has to follow through on those, but Congress doesn't always do that," the attorney noted. "Congress will [often] just hand a pile of money to an agency and give the agency the discretion on how to spend it. Part of that discretion is the right not to spend it at all."
The scope and pace of Musk's cuts may be unusual, but Chamberlain reiterated that their legality is not.
"The president needs a lot of people around him to help him do his job – taking care of the laws that are faithfully executed and acting on the president's policy," Chamberlain noted. "This is just totally a standard way for the executive branch to function."
He said it has functioned that way for decades, if not centuries.
At the end of the day, Democrats are trying to deny Republicans the right to govern following the landslide election wins that gave the party control of the White House and Capitol Hill.
"It's a rebellion," Chamberlain said. "Democrats lost the election, but they're trying to say, 'Oh, well, you don't get to really win. The executive branch is staffed by our loyalists, and they get to they get to determine what our government does.'"
