Appeals court blocks Judge Chutkan’s order for DOGE records

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order regarding Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) records has been blocked by a federal appeals court.

Chutkan’s order directed DOGE and Elon Musk to hand over records in an effort to determine “the parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority.” But the legal challenge was temporarily blocked by the appeals court on Wednesday.

“A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a stay of Chutkan’s directive, suggesting that the lower court judge must rule on the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss before allowing any discovery,” The Hill reported. “It’s not a final ruling on whether DOGE must eventually turn over the records.”

JUST IN: The DC Circuit has *blocked* Judge Chutkan’s order for discovery against DOGE, saying she should rule on the administration’s motion to dismiss the case first. pic.twitter.com/sh92qCNaK5

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 26, 2025

A coalition of states, led by New Mexico, brought the case against Musk and his role leading DOGE which they said is unconstitutional as he has “seemingly limitless and unchecked power” over government agencies.

A status hearing that was scheduled for Thursday was canceled by Chutkan, an appointee of former President Obama who presided over the January 6, 2021, criminal case against President Donald Trump. The appeals court put discovery on hold for now, ruling, “In particular, petitioners have shown a likelihood of success on their argument that the district court was required to decide their motion to dismiss before allowing discovery.”

A previous request for a restraining order from 14 Democratic state attorneys general was not granted by Chutkan after they sought to block Musk from accessing information at the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Commerce.

Chutkan found that the states failed to show “that they will suffer imminent, irreparable harm absent a temporary restraining order.”

“The court is aware that DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion for Plaintiffs and many of their agencies and residents,” she wrote in the February ruling. “It remains ‘uncertain’ when and how the catalog of state programs that Plaintiffs identify will suffer.”

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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