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Judge George C. Hanks, Jr., (S.D. Tex.) on Tuesday granted a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by FBI Director Kash Patel over comments made by a former FBI official on Morning Joe. (Memorandum Opinion and Order.)
The Department of Justice on Tuesday indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center for alleged financial crimes stemming from its payments to secret informants in extremist groups, a program the Justice Department claims defrauded donors. (Indictment.) (NYT.) (WSJ.) Chris Geidner considered the program’s history, concluding that the “idea that donors were defrauded by the existence of one program that’s been known about for 45 years and that had cost the organization just a minuscule portion of its budget in any given year is an unbelievable stretch.” (Law Dork.)
The district attorney in Durango, Colo., on Tuesday charged a Customs and Border Protection officer with assault and criminal mischief stemming from an altercation with a protester caught on video last October. (NYT.)
The New York Times reports that the Justice Department on Monday night rescinded recently issued subpoenas tied to an investigation into John Brennan, the former CIA director. (NYT.) For background on the Justice Department’s investigation into Brennan, see the Roundup Library.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday that DHS would be unable to pay employees the first week of May without a congressional deal to fund the department. (NYT.)
The Senate on Tuesday advanced to the floor a budget resolution that would allow Congress to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the reconciliation process, avoiding a filibuster. (NYT.)
The Pentagon on Tuesday presented how it planned to spend the $1.5 billion requested in next year’s defense budget, a nearly 50 percent increase in defense spending. (WaPo.)
President Trump on Tuesday extended a ceasefire between the United States and Iran to allow Iran to submit a proposal to end the war. (Truth Social.) (NYT.)
The Washington Post reports that on Sunday two CIA officers in Mexico died in a car crash—which also killed two Mexican officials—while returning from a counternarcotics operation. President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said that her government would investigate whether the operation violated Mexican national security laws. (WaPo.)
The Washington Post reports that the contract governing donations to build a White House ballroom, which was disclosed in litigation, maintains anonymity for donors and excludes the White House from a conflict-of-interest review process typical in routine federal fundraising contracts. (WaPo.)
President Trump on Tuesday predicted he would lose the birthright citizenship case and claimed that some Republican appointees to the Supreme Court show “very little loyalty to the man who appointed them or, more importantly, the ideology from which they came to be Nominated and Confirmed.” (Truth Social.)
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.