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A panel of the D.C. Circuit today granted the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal of a Nov. 20 district court order enjoining the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard in Washington D.C. The panel wrote that “[b]ecause the District of Columbia is a federal district created by Congress, rather than a constitutionally sovereign entity like the fifty States,” the government is likely to succeed on its claim that the president has a unique authority in the District to mobilize the Guard under 32 U.S.C. § 502(f). (Order.) See the Roundup Library for background.
Senior Judge Richard J. Leon (D.D.C.) on Tuesday declined to immediately enjoin construction of a proposed White House ballroom, but said that the court would hold the administration to its commitment to submit the project’s plans for federal review. (NYT.) See Monday’s Roundup for background.
Following a classified congressional briefing on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Pentagon will not release the full, unedited video of the follow-on strike that killed two survivors of a first attack on an alleged drug vessel on Sept. 2. (Politico.) The U.S. military announced that it had carried out strikes against three additional boats said to be carrying drugs through the Eastern Pacific on Monday, killing eight. (X.) (NYT.)
President Trump on Tuesday ordered “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.” (Truth Social.) (NYT.)
President Trump on Tuesday announced an expanded travel ban, effective Jan. 1, which fully bars travel from five additional countries and partially restricts travel from 15 more. (NYT.)
Chris Whipple chronicled his interviews with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles throughout the first year of Trump’s second term. Wiles discussed the president’s Jan. 6 pardons, Elon Musk and the dismantling of USAID, deportations, and National Guard deployments (Part 1), as well as the Epstein files, the administration’s “war on drugs,” and the prosecutions of Letitia James and James Comey (Part 2). (Vanity Fair.) Wiles criticized the article. (X.) (NYT.)
Will Gottsegen argued that President Trump’s designation of fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction “is a rhetorical escalation that reaffirms this administration’s posture in an armed conflict that’s already under way.” (The Atlantic.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges: The government filed an application on December 5 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that would send a dispute over a policy governing the speaking engagements of immigration judges back to a district court, directing it to “conduct a factual inquiry [into] whether the [Civil Service Reform Act] continues to provide a functional adjudicatory scheme.” Chief Justice Roberts granted an administrative stay on December 5 and formally set a deadline of December 10 for a response. The National Association of Immigration Judges filed a response on December 10. Daren Margolin, Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, filed a reply on December 11.
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. The Court set argument for January 21, 2026, and both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19.
Trump v. Illinois: The government filed an emergency application on October 17 requesting the Supreme Court stay a district court order barring the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois. Justice Barrett formally set a deadline of October 20 for a response to the application. Illinois and the City of Chicago submitted a response on October 20. President Trump filed a reply on October 21. On October 29, Justice Barrett requested supplemental briefs to be filed by November 10. President Trump, as well as Illinois and the City of Chicago, both filed supplemental letter briefs on November 10 and supplemental letter replies on November 17.