A federal judge is pressing the Trump Administration for answers on the American Department of Government Efficiency after expressing her “concerns” that she believes the new entity is running afoul of the constitution by having Elon Musk as its head.

During a hearing at Washington on Monday on a lawsuit filed against DOGE over its access to sensitive payment systems at the Treasury, District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who was an appointee of President Clinton, said she believes the temporary federal agency may be violating the appointments clause of the constitution, which states that Senate-confirmed officials must run federal agencies.

“Based on the limited record I have before me, I have some concerns about the constitutionality of the USDS’s structure and operation,” she said, referring to the acronym of the U.S. Digital Service, which was restructured as DOGE.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly also went through a handful of statements made by Mr. Trump, White House officials, and Mr. Musk that implied he has a more significant role in the agency than just an adviser, according to a report from Politico. 

Among her list of comments, the justice included one from a financial conference last week at Miami where Mr. Trump said he had “put a man named Elon Musk in charge” of DOGE.

“What representation do I rely on? I would hope that by now we would know the structure,” Judge Kollar-Kotelly asked while grilling Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys, who responded by saying the only information he had about Mr. Musk’s role was what he is “a close adviser to the president.”

Justice Department officials have maintained that DOGE is operated under the Treasury and that its employees ultimately report to Secretary Bessent, who has been confirmed by the Senate.

The latest development in the unfolding drama surrounding Mr. Musk and his handling of DOGE comes as federal agencies, including many run by Trump cabinet picks, pushed back against his hack-and-slash tactics, urging their employees not to respond to a recent email that asked them to justify their jobs by drafting bullet points on what work they had accomplished in the past week.

Mr. Musk initially took to X over the weekend to say that not responding to the email by a deadline of midnight on Monday would be considered a tendered resignation.

Despite the backlash, he has doubled down on his stance with another ultimatum on Tuesday just after the original midnight deadline had passed.

“Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,” he said in a post on X.

“Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”