Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
The American Historical Association and American Oversight on Monday sued President Trump and senior administration officials in the District of Columbia over a recent Office of Legal Counsel opinion that declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. The complaint seeks to block any destruction or removal of presidential records and to compel continued compliance with federal recordkeeping requirements. (Complaint.) (CBS.)
Judge Christina Reiss (D. Vt.) on Tuesday granted partial summary judgment to a Harvard researcher, Kseniia Petrova, who claimed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection unlawfully canceled her valid J-1 visa and detained her without legal grounds in February 2025. Judge Reiss held that CBP lacked lawful authority to cancel the visa based on an alleged customs violation and that the agency’s action violated the Administrative Procedure Act. (Opinion and Order.)
President Trump on Tuesday evening announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, subject to the country “agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” (Truth Social.) (WaPo.)
The New York Times published an account of how President Trump took the United States to war with Iran, including previously unreported details from Situation Room meetings leading up to his decision. (NYT.)
The Washington Post reported that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he has “no plans to depart or resign” from his position despite earlier reporting about his numerous internal disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A White House spokesperson praised Driscoll’s leadership in Operation Epic Fury. (WaPo.)
The Department of Justice has reportedly directed its civil rights division to investigate former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson in a case that appears to involve allegations that Hutchinson lied to Congress in testimony regarding President Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol. (NYT.) Ed Whelan criticized the investigation. (X.)
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday defended probes and prosecutions into the president’s adversaries, stating that among thousands of ongoing DOJ investigations, “it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and that he believes should be investigated. That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country.” (WaPo.) (Reuters.)
Jonathan Adler argued that the Supreme Court’s easiest path forward in resolving the birthright citizenship case “does not require reaching the underlying constitutional question.” (Civitas Outlook.)
Andrew McCarthy rejected “the progressive talking point that it is a war crime to attack infrastructure that benefits civilians in any war.” (National Review.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Blanche v. Perlmutter: The government filed an emergency application on October 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court interlocutory injunction that temporarily reinstated Shira Perlmutter to her role as Register of Copyrights while litigation over her removal continues. Chief Justice Roberts formally set a deadline of November 10 for a response to the application. Perlmutter submitted a response on November 10. Blanche submitted a reply on November 12. The Court deferred the application for stay on November 28 pending the Court’s decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook.
Trump v. Cook: The government filed an emergency application on September 18 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a preliminary injunction issued by a district court that blocked President Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook filed an opposition to the request on the same day. The Chief Justice formally set a deadline of September 25 for a response to the application. Cook filed a response on September 25. On October 1, the Court deferred action on the stay application pending oral argument in January 2026 and established a supplemental briefing schedule. Additional amicus briefs were filed on October 29. Both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19 and the Court heard oral argument on Jan. 21, 2026.
Mullin v. Doe: The government filed an application on February 26 requesting the Supreme Court stay pending appeal of a preliminary injunction issued by a district court preliminarily enjoining then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem from terminating temporary protected status designation for Syria. The government asked the Court to construe the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment and grant the petition. On March 16, the Court consolidated the case with a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status designations for Haiti and granted certiorari before judgment of the consolidated cases while deferring action on the government’s request for a stay.
Trump v. Miot: The government filed an application on March 11 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a lower court order postponing then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate temporary protected status designation for Haiti. The government also asked the Court to treat the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment and grant the petition. On March 16, the Court consolidated the case with Mullin v. Doe.