Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
President Trump threatened in a Truth Social post on Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests in Minnesota hours after an ICE agent shot and injured a man in Minneapolis, setting off clashes between protesters and law enforcement in the city.
Judge Kate M. Menendez (D. Minn.) on Wednesday gave the Justice Department a Monday deadline to respond to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office’s request to block the Trump administration’s massive deployment of ICE agents to the area. (Docket.) (NYT.) See a prior Roundup for background on the proceedings.
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it would immediately slash $2 billion in federal funding for mental health programs but reversed course and reinstated the funds following lobbying by members of Congress. (NYT.)
Four Democratic lawmakers said on Wednesday that the Department of Justice is investigating them for their participation in a video urging service members to disobey illegal military orders. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia declined to deny or confirm any investigations. (NYT.)
FBI agents executed a search warrant Wednesday at the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into a Pentagon contractor’s handling of classified documents. (WaPo.) (NYT.)
President Trump on Wednesday reiterated that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for national security purposes hours after Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with top officials from Denmark and Greenland at the White House. (WSJ.) (NYT.)
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a resolution that sought to require President Trump to seek approval from Congress before using the military in Venezuela. (NYT.)
The State Department on Wednesday announced it would suspend issuing visas to applicants from 75 countries that the Trump administration said are at high risk of becoming reliant on American welfare benefits. (WSJ.)
The Trump administration is reportedly considering enlisting private firms in offensive cyberattacks. (NYT.)
Rob McLaughlin and Conor McLaughlin argued that the U.S. seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker off the coast of Iceland was likely unlawful under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which they maintain “is widely recognized to reflect customary international law binding on States that are not party to it, including the United States.” (Just Security.)
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. The Court set argument for January 21, 2026, and both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19.