Programming Note: Executive Functions Roundup will operate on a limited holiday schedule for the week of Memorial Day. Following our May 21 edition, the Roundup will publish only on May 26 and May 29 before returning to its regular daily schedule on June 1.
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Judge Lance E. Walker (D. Me.) on Thursday dismissed a Department of Justice suit that sought to compel the State of Maine to produce Maine’s “complete and unredacted” voter registration list. Similar suits in six other states have also been dismissed. (Order.)
Judge Dabney L. Friedrich (D.D.C.) on Thursday granted President Biden’s motion to intervene in the Heritage Foundation’s FOIA action seeking certain transcripts and audio recordings from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation. Judge Friedrich ruled that Biden “has a right to protect his privacy interest” implicated by the production of the materials to the plaintiffs since the Department of Justice reported that it intends to disclose them. She rejected Biden’s motion to bring cross-claims regarding the Department’s production of the materials to the House Judiciary Committee. (Opinion.)
Judge April M. Perry (N.D. Ill.) on Thursday dismissed all charges against a group of Chicago anti-ICE demonstrators on the ground that prosecutors acted improperly when presenting the case to the grand jury, including by dismissing jurors who opposed the indictment and by talking about the case with jurors outside the grand jury room. (WSJ.) (Minute entry.)
Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. (M.D. Tenn.) on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, holding that “absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought th[e] prosecution.” (NYT.) (Opinion.)
The Department of Justice on Friday moved to dismiss the criminal case for seditious conspiracy stemming from Jan. 6 against members of the Oath Keepers, including the militia’s founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III. (NYT.) (Motion.)
The Department of Justice has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6 riots, calling it “partisan propaganda,” and announced on X that it is “proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration” and that it “will do everything in [its] power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes.” (X.) (Politico.)
A coalition of individuals and groups filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to “halt and set aside the creation and operation” of the Anti-Weaponization Fund. The plaintiffs argue, in part, that the Fund violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection guarantees because “[b]y its own terms, [it] is available only to claimants who assert that they were targeted by ‘Democrat’ administrations.” The plaintiffs also argue the Fund violates the separation of powers and the APA. (NYT.) (Complaint.) This is the second suit against the Anti-Weaponization Fund; see a previous Roundup for background on the other suit. Allies of President Trump are reportedly awaiting information to apply. (WaPo.)
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.