Justices can find these speeches to Congress to be a trial.
Four sitting members of the court attended on Tuesday: Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kagan, Kavanaugh and Barrett.
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The judge prodded government lawyers for additional clarity on Elon Musk’s role in a case that directly challenges the constitutionality of his operation and his part in the rapid reshaping of government.
Judge John D. Bates previously ruled in the same case to allow members of Elon Musk’s government-overhaul team to continue accessing some sensitive federal records.
The justices ruled last week that the president could not, for now, remove a government lawyer who leads the watchdog agency that protects whistle-blowers.
Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, recommended pausing the mass firings of some probationary federal employees.
The judge expressed concern over the unresolved issues about who is in charge of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, if it is not Mr. Musk, as the White House has claimed.
President Trump commuted Alice Johnson’s life sentence during his first term, and later pardoned her for her drug conviction. She will advise him on similar cases.
The Justice Department said a law protecting the officials from arbitrary removal is an unconstitutional intrusion on presidential authority.
The Justice Department had sued SpaceX in 2023, accusing the company of violating federal law by refusing to hire refugees and people granted asylum in the United States.