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The Supreme Court on Monday granted the government’s application for a stay of a district court preliminary injunction that halted government construction of barriers along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. In an 8-1 unsigned opinion, the Court held that the government was likely to prevail in its argument that the district court lacked jurisdiction to decide respondents’ claim that the government violated the major questions doctrine. (Opinion.) (Docket.) (SCOTUSblog.) (Politico.) (WaPo.)
A coalition of Alaska civic groups and voters on Monday asked the Ninth Circuit to summarily affirm a district court order dismissing the government’s lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Alaska senate election if the incumbent Republican senator lost. (Motion.) (Election Law Blog.) For background on the litigation, see prior Roundups.
Labor and civil rights organizations on Friday voluntarily dismissed without prejudice their lawsuit challenging the Justice Department’s directives to election officials to segregate ballots of suspected noncitizens. The move comes after Judge Trina L. Thompson (N.D. Cal.) stayed all proceedings in the district court pending an appeal in the Ninth Circuit. (Notice.) (Docket.) For background on the litigation, see previous Roundups.
Social science researchers and associations sued the National Science Foundation and its acting director on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking to block the dismantling of its Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, which annually funds hundreds of millions of dollars in social, behavioral, and economic science research. (Complaint.) (NYT.)
Brett Shumate, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, resigned on Monday, marking the latest DOJ official’s departure since Democrats won back control of Congress in the midterm elections. (CBS.)
President Trump in a social media post on Monday raised doubt about the integrity of the midterm elections, asking, “Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest.” The post marked a change in tone after the president stated last week that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results, which decisively favored Democrats. (Truth Social.) (WaPo.) (NYT.) (Politico.)
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) on Monday introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the House will vote on by Wednesday. Hegseth denied the accusations and called the impeachment effort a political sham. (Resolution.) (NYT.) (WaPo.) Ilya Somin argued that Hegseth should be impeached and convicted for starting an unconstitutional war against Iran and for ordering unlawful military strikes against boats carrying suspected drug traffickers, which he called “outright murder.” (The Volokh Conspiracy.)
Joshua Braver argued that the Ninth Circuit’s “highly deferential” standard in Newsom v. Trump—in which a three-judge panel affirmed a preliminary injunction against President Trump’s federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles—misreads the statutory history of domestic deployment. (Just Security.)
Julia Curlee argued that the new Democratic-led Congress should use funding limits, subpoenas, and record preservation to rebuild intelligence oversight. (Lawfare.)
Jennifer Nou used the term “parapresidency” to describe short-term, quasi-private entities such as the Department of Government Efficiency that “expand presidential control while diffusing legal and political accountability.” (SSRN.)