Federal judge in MD has granted class certification in a case to resolve whether Musk was "de facto" head of DOGE

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Reposted by Mike Masnick
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Chris Geidner
‪@chrisgeidner.bsky.social‬

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BREAKING: A federal judge in Maryland has granted class certification in a case to resolve whether Elon Musk was the "de facto" head of DOGE, whether he made the decision to dismantle USAID, and whether the dismantling was unconstitutional.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.576293/gov.uscourts.mdd.576293.152.0_1.pdf

The named Plaintiffs are thus typical of the overall class because they all allege the same
claims and injuries: that Musk directed the shutdown of USAID in violation of the Appointments Clause, that Defendants have since acted to eliminate USAID as an independent agency in
violation of the Separation of Powers, and that, as result of those actions, they have been or will
be separated from their personnel roles at the agency. Accordingly, the efforts of any particular named Plaintiff to advance that individual's claims by proving that Musk did in fact direct the
shutdown of USAID, or that Defendants have indeed effectively eliminated the agency's
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Case 8:25-cv-00462-TDC
Document 152
Filed 08/18/25
Page 20 of 25
independent operations, will "simultaneously tend to advance the interests of the absent class members." Deiter, 436 F.3d at 466. Because Plaintiffs' claims "fairly encompassil" those of the
class members, typicality is satisfied. Broussard, 155 F.3d at 344.
ALT

Specifically, pursuant to Rule 23(c)(1)(B), the Court will certify the following issues to be

decided on a classwide basis as to the Appointments Clause claim:

1. Whether Musk made the initial decision to dismantle USAID;

2. Whether the decision to dismantle USAID is an exercise of significant authority that only a duly appointed Officer of the United States can take under the Appointments Clause;

3. Whether Musk acted as the de facto Administrator of DOGE during the Class Period; and

4. If Musk acted as the de facto Administrator of DOGE, whether that position is a continuing one for the purposes of the Appointments Clause.
ALT

The Court will also certify the following issues to be decided on a classwide basis as to the
Separation of Powers claim:
1. Whether Defendants' stated plan to "retire USAID's independent operation," Lewin Mem. at 3, along with its related actions including but not limited to the closure of USAID headquarters, the RIFs and terminations of USAID personnel and PSCs, and the
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Case 8:25-cv-00462-TDC Document 152
Filed 08/18/25
Page 25 of 25
decommissioning of USAID assets, have collectively eliminated USAID as an independent agency; and
2. Whether such elimination of USAID as an independent agency violates the constitutional principle of the Separation of Powers under the framework set forth in Justice Robert Jackson's concurrence in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952).
ALT
August 18, 2025 at 5:45 PM

BREAKING: A federal judge in Maryland has granted class certification in a case to resolve whether Elon Musk was the "de facto" head of DOGE, whether he made the decision to dismantle USAID, and whether the dismantling was unconstitutional. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) 2025-08-18T21:45:07.537Z

Chris Geidner
‪@chrisgeidner.bsky.social‬

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Here's the class certification order:
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.576293/gov.uscourts.mdd.576293.153.0_1.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.576293/gov.uscourts.mdd.576293.153.0_1.pdf
storage.courtlistener.com
August 18, 2025 at 5:47 PM

Here's the class certification order: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) 2025-08-18T21:47:23.836Z