Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
Judge Patrick J. Schiltz (D. Minn.) on Monday ordered Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, to appear personally and show cause why he should not be held in contempt after the agency defied “dozens” of court orders in recent weeks. The order arose from a case in which the government failed to provide a detained petitioner with a bond hearing or release him from custody. (Order.) (Politico.) ICE subsequently released the petitioner from custody, eliminating the requirement that Lyons appear under the terms of the judge’s order. (NBC News.)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Monday accusing the Trump administration of spreading misinformation about Minnesota as a pretext to send ICE agents to his state and appealing to the president to “lower the temperature.” (WSJ.) President Trump said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News that his administration would “de-escalate a little bit” with regard to his immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. (NYT.) The president dispatched border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to begin discussions with Democrats in charge of the state. (WSJ.)
The Department of Homeland Security shared with Congress on Tuesday a preliminary review of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. (WSJ.) (WaPo.) Andrew C. McCarthy argued that the Trump administration’s “refusal to conduct a credible criminal investigation only makes the eventual prosecution of federal agents more likely.” (National Review.)
Andrew Weissmann and Ryan Goodman proposed ten key questions for the Trump administration regarding its actions in Minnesota. (Just Security.)
Protestors against ICE brought a case on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon seeking a temporary restraining order barring Department of Homeland Security agents from using excessive force on protestors outside of an ICE facility in Portland. (Motion.)
Relatives of two men apparently killed by the U.S. military in a boat strike in the Caribbean filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the United States of America. (Complaint.) (NYT.)
As Congress intensifies oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, Bob Bauer argued that the moment is ripe to press the Trump administration on whether it is preparing any role for ICE in “election security” this fall. (Executive Functions.)
Jason R. DiNapoli argued the use of artificial intelligence as a centralized tool within the Oval Office could transform “the most powerful office in the world.” (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.