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Judge Christopher R. Cooper (D.D.C.) on Friday granted in part Rep. Joyce Beatty’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from effectuating its planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center for renovations. Judge Cooper also ruled that the Kennedy Center’s name cannot be changed without congressional approval and ordered center officials to remove Trump’s name from the building within two weeks. (Order.) (WaPo.) President Trump criticized the ruling. (Truth Social.)
Judge Kathleen M. Williams (S.D. Fla.) on Friday ordered lawyers for President Trump and his family to respond to a motion filed by 35 former federal judges alleging that the president’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service was “collusive from the start” and may have been voluntarily dismissed to avoid judicial scrutiny of a settlement. (Order.) (WaPo.) Bill Shipley discussed the legal actions challenging the settlement’s creation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund and argued that they “all lack merit.” (Shipwreckedcrew.)
The New York Times, citing interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the deliberations, detailed how a small group of Justice Department officials and President Trump’s private lawyers negotiated the settlement of the president’s IRS lawsuit. (NYT.)
Democratic officials in several blue states are exploring legislation to impose a 100 percent tax on payments from the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. (WaPo.)
A Times analysis of federal employment data found that more than 10,000 lawyers have left the government since the beginning of 2025. (NYT.)
U.S. Southern Command announced that U.S. forces struck an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific on Friday, killing three men. (Press Release.)
Tyler McBrien, Michael Feinberg, and Benjamin Wittes shared an archive of materials relating to Jan. 6 prosecutions that were removed from the Justice Department’s website in May 2026. (Lawfare.)
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. The Court heard oral argument on April 29, 2026.
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. The Court heard oral argument on April 29, 2026.