Two Bay Area counties are suing the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk over claims they unlawfully ordered the restructuring and mass firing of federal employees.
The lawsuit from over a dozen jurisdictions, including Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, was announced Tuesday as President Donald Trump marked his first 100 days in office.
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WATCH HERE"At no point has Congress authorized President Trump's actions to reorganize and dismantle the federal agencies that are so critical to our nation's well-being and security," said Tony LoPresti, County Counsel for Santa Clara County.
The lead attorney for Santa Clara and San Francisco counties said Trump's actions are a clear violation of the Constitution's separation of powers.
The lawsuit is the broadest legal challenge to the White House yet, with the cities of Chicago and Baltimore among the more than dozen other places joining along with labor unions representing laid off federal workers.
Those who have filed the lawsuit hope a federal judge will rule to reverse the cuts and bring impacted agencies back to full staffing levels.
"These dramatic and illegal changes have made it extremely difficult for local communities and local governments to effectively deliver our programs and services," San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said.
The Trump administration did not provide a comment Tuesday about the lawsuit. Department of Justice attorneys have previously argued the cuts are well inside the president's power and are very necessary.
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