On Friday, February 7, 19 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit arguing that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla/Space-X CEO Elon Musk, had no right to access sensitive U.S. Treasury Department data — including private financial information and Americans' Social Security numbers. And U.S. District Judge Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, in response, issued a temporary restraining order. A hearing on the matter is set for Valentine's Day.
Vice President JD Vance attacked the ruling in a February 9 post on X, formerly Twitter.
Vance tweeted, "If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal. Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power."
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Musk, who owns X, retweeted Vance's post. In a separate tweet, Musk wrote, " A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be impeached NOW!
But many X users are attacking Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School, and arguing that he fails to understand checks and balances and separation of powers.
Former Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky) tweeted, "Yale Law School should be embarrassed. The judge's legal role is to define what executive powers are legitimate. It's called separation of powers, which you apparently don't believe in."
Yarmuth, now 77, was a self-described "Rockefeller Republican" until 1985, when he left the GOP and switched to the Democratic Party because the GOP was "catering to the Religious Right" and "started hosting Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson."
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Liberal firebrand and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann posted, "Already forgot Aileen Cannon commanding the attorney general how to use his discretion as a prosecutor, huh, Jayvee?"
On X, David Hogg, vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), urged Vance to "read the Constitution."
ABC News' Terry Moran wrote, "Judges 'say what the law is.' Not generals or prosecutors.
The Independent's Andrew Feinberg tweeted, " The VP appears to be signaling that the administration will ignore court decisions that it does not like.
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