In an effort to slash government spending, President Trump has asked the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In turn, Musk and his team have spent the first few weeks of Trump’s second term waging a largely unchecked war on the federal bureaucracy — an onslaught that was finally challenged Thursday when a dozen states announced they would sue to block DOGE's access to government payment systems containing Americans' personal data.

Elon Musk is testing the limits of legal and ethical restrictions on the role of special advisers in U.S. presidential administrations, according to some legal experts and lawmakers who oppose the billionaire's mission against what he deems wasteful government spending.