Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
For the fourth time since Operation Epic Fury began, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a war powers resolution intended to limit President Trump’s authority to use further military force against Iran. The motion to discharge the measure from committee failed on a vote of 52 to 47. (NYT.)
U.S. Southern Command announced that it struck an alleged drug smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, killing three people. (X.) The attack marked the third such strike in three days. (NYT.)
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon has held preliminary talks with the executives of major U.S. manufacturers, including automakers, to enlist their help in expanding weapons production and other military supplies. (WSJ.)
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied John Eastman’s petition for review of a lower court ruling ordering his disbarment. The court ordered that Eastman’s name be “stricken from the roll of attorneys” in California, ending a three-year disciplinary process that arose from Eastman’s role in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election in President Trump’s favor. (Docket.) (Politico.)
The Washington Post reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable on Wednesday ordering American diplomats to press foreign governments to support a “trade over aid” declaration ahead of its planned introduction at the United Nations. Rubio’s directive stated that the declaration is an opportunity to use the U.N. system to “promote America First values and create business opportunities for U.S. companies.” (WaPo.)
Bob Bauer argued that the 25th Amendment gives the vice president outsized control over presidential removal—leaving Congress with a role only if the vice president allows it to act—and outlined possible avenues for future reform. (Executive Functions.)
Christopher Fonzone, the former Biden Administration head of the Office of Legal Counsel, criticized the current OLC’s recent opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, arguing that the opinion is legally unpersuasive, disregards precedent, and breaks with longstanding institutional practice. (Just Security.)
Linda Greenhouse argued that the Trump administration’s revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants is likely to lose at the Supreme Court because of procedural failures. (NYT.)
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.