Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
The Justice Department on Wednesday filed an application requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court order postponing then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status designation. The government also asked the court to treat the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment and grant the petition. (Application.) (NYT.)
Anthropic on Wednesday asked the D.C. Circuit for a stay pending judicial review of the Defense Department’s designation of the company as a supply-chain risk to national security under 41 U.S.C. § 4713. The company argued that absent “immediate judicial intervention,” the designation “will inflict escalating and irreparable harm on Anthropic and upend the statutory framework Congress enacted to govern supply-chain security determinations.” (Emergency motion.) (Reuters.)
Attorneys general representing 17 states filed a complaint on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking a stay of a Department of Education policy requiring universities to disclose applicant data disaggregated by race and sex as a tool to track institutions of higher education’s compliance with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. (Complaint.) (NYT.)
The Justice Department on Tuesday appealed a magistrate judge’s order blocking the government from searching a Washington Post reporter’s electronic devices that were seized by the FBI as part of an investigation into an alleged unauthorized disclosure of classified information. (Brief.) (WaPo.) For background on the litigation, see a prior Roundup.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump personally ordered the Justice Department to reverse its decision to abandon its defense of the president’s executive orders targeting law firms. (WSJ.) For background, see a prior Roundup.
A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday urged the Government Accountability Office to review and report to Congress on the Justice Department’s handling of its release of documents pertaining to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. (Letter.) (WaPo.)
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it has initiated investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to issue tariffs to remedy unfair foreign trade practices. (Notice.) (WSJ.) For background on the government’s changing tariff policies, see the Roundup Library.
Geoffrey Corn and Orde Kittrie argued that the U.S. military’s attacks on Iran are justified under international law as part of a long-term ongoing conflict with Iran. (WaPo.)
Corn and Claire O. Finkelstein argued that Congress’s failure to pass a resolution restricting the president’s use of the military in Iran should not be construed as tacit approval. (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.
Noem 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 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.
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.