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A panel of the Eighth Circuit on Monday stayed a district court preliminary injunction limiting ICE agents’ use of force and interference with observers and protestors in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Order.) See a previous Roundup for background.
Judge Kate Menendez (D. Minn.) ordered the Department of Homeland Security to provide supplemental briefing on Minnesota’s claim that Operation Metro Surge is intended to punish the state’s jurisdictions for sanctuary policies, coerce changes to state and local law, and compel the use of local resources for federal immigration enforcement and extended detention. (Order.) (Politico.)
U.S. officials said that Homeland Security Investigations is leading an investigation into the Saturday killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis with assistance from the FBI. (WSJ.) A lawyer for the Justice Department told Judge Eric C. Tostrud (D. Minn.) on Monday that federal investigators have preserved body-camera footage and other evidence related to the killing of Pretti; however, the lawyer stated he did not know whether the evidence would be preserved and shared with Minnesota investigators after the federal investigation ends. (WaPo.)
According to the Atlantic, Gregory Bovino was removed from his role as “commander at large” of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and will be departing Minneapolis. (The Atlantic.)
The Justice Department dismissed assault charges against a man accused of driving his car into federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 16. (NYT.)
Patrick Hulme, Katherine Irajpanah, and Andrew Kenealy used artificial intelligence to process “thousands of legislator messages across a range of channels” to analyze congressional sentiment regarding the use of force in Venezuela before, during, and after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (Lawfare.)
Richard Rubin discussed how the Internal Revenue Service’s performance this tax season, as well as tax cuts passed in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” may help or hurt President Trump and the Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.. (WSJ.)
Max Boot argued that the “Board of Peace” is a “multilateral organization in name only” which is unlikely to supersede the United Nations. (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.