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A panel of the Third Circuit on Monday upheld a district court’s disqualification of Alina Habba as Acting U.S. Attorney in New Jersey. The court concluded that she was ineligible under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) and that “the Attorney General’s delegation of all the powers of a U.S. Attorney to Habba is prohibited by the FVRA’s exclusivity provision.” (Opinion.) (Politico.) See a previous Roundup for background.
Judge James Boasberg (D.D.C.) on Friday ordered the Trump administration to “submit declarations from all individuals involved in the decision not to halt the transfer of class members out of U.S. physical custody on March 15 and 16, 2025,” including a description of their roles in the decision, by Dec. 5. (Order.) (AP.) For background on the case, see a previous Roundup.
Members of the armed services committees in the House and Senate announced that they will open bipartisan inquiries following reporting from the Washington Post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered forces to kill all occupants of a suspected drug-running boat in the Caribbean on Sept. 2, allegedly resulting in a follow-on strike against two survivors. (WSJ.) (WaPo.) President Trump said Sunday he is confident that Hegseth did not give such an order. (WaPo.) Jack Goldsmith wrote that “if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water,’ as the Post put it.” (Executive Functions.) Andrew McCarthy, commenting on Hegseth’s X statement, argued that framing the operation as “lethal, kinetic strikes” cannot legally justify killing shipwrecked survivors who were hors de combat. (National Review.)
President Trump on Saturday declared that airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” (Truth Social.) (NYT.)
At least 225 federal judges across 35 states have rejected the administration’s ICE policy mandating mass detention for nearly all immigrants in deportation proceedings, with eight judges nationwide so far siding with the government. (Politico.) Steve Vladeck noted that a district judge’s recent certification of a nationwide class action for declaratory relief against the policy “may accelerate how quickly this issue moves to the courts of appeals and, inevitably it seems, to the Supreme Court.” (One First.)
The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington said it would consider using local D.C. grand juries to bring federal charges “when appropriate” following a Nov. 20 ruling from Judge Boasberg approving the practice. (NYT.)
According to the New York Times, the solicitor general’s office has seen “unusually high turnover” amid increased involvement of White House lawyers and more politically charged filings to the Supreme Court. (NYT.)
President Trump commuted the seven-year sentence of private-equity executive David Gentile 12 days after he began serving time for his role in what prosecutors called a $1.6 billion fraud scheme. (NYT.)
The Justice Department has issued dozens of subpoenas in its investigation of former Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and is separately seeking to obtain copies of tens of thousands of 2020 Fulton County ballots. (NYT.)
Northwestern University on Friday agreed to pay the federal government $75 million to restore suspended research funding and resolve three federal investigations. It is the sixth deal that the administration has reached with an elite university. (NYT.)
Bill Shipley argued that the Trump administration appears poised to terminate “Temporary Protective Status” for many of the 16 designated countries, writing that prior redesignations improperly expanded the program. (Shipwreckedcrew.)
Chris Geidner discussed the administration’s response to the shooting of two National Guard troops in D.C., calling it a “collective-punishment campaign” in line with Trump’s broader immigration policy objectives. (Law Dork.)
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. 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.
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.