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The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred the government’s application for a stay of a district court opinion barring President Trump from firing Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board pending oral argument in January. The decision allows for Cook to remain in the role until the Court rules following oral arguments. (Order.) (NYT.)
The Fifth Circuit granted on Tuesday the government’s petition to rehear en banc a case challenging President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang. (Order.) (NYT.) In a 2-1 decision last month, a Fifth Circuit panel issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act as the basis of deportations. (Order.) See a previous Roundup for background.
Judge William G. Young (D. Mass.) on Tuesday held that the Trump administration targeted noncitizen pro-Palestinian protesters with deportation on account of their political speech in violation of the First Amendment. In a 161-page opinion, the judge stated that the administration impermissibly engaged in viewpoint discrimination in its enforcement of immigration laws. The judge also held that the administration’s policy was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). (Opinion.) (NYT.)
Judge David G. Campbell (D. Ariz.) held on Tuesday that Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Sigal Chattah is not validly serving in her position under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Judge Campbell ordered Chattah disqualified from supervising the prosecutions of several defendants recently indicted on felony charges in the District of Nevada but rejected defendants’ claim that Chattah’s lack of authority rendered their indictments defective or violated their constitutional right to due process. (Order.) (NYT.)
Judge Mary McElroy (D.R.I.) on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Federal Emergency Management Agency from freezing $233 million in disaster relief funds previously allocated to 12 plaintiff states. (Order.) (Politico.)
President Trump told the country’s top military leaders on Tuesday that there was a “war from within” in American cities and suggested the military should use American cities as “training grounds.” (WSJ.) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said he plans to overhaul internal procedures that allow military officials to file whistleblower complaints. (WaPo.)
The White House withdrew its nomination of E.J. Antoni to serve as the leader of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (NYT.) (WSJ.)
Bob Bauer called on legal experts and commentators to resist “the powerful pressures of polarization and ideology that are among the very sources of disquiet in American democracy.” (Executive Functions.)
Nick Bednar examined how the Trump administration could seize on the government shutdown to reduce the size of the federal workforce. (Lawfare.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Noem v. National TPS Alliance: The government filed an emergency application on September 19 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court order granting summary judgement that blocked the termination of TPS protection. The application also requested an immediate administrative stay of the judgement while the Court considers the full stay request. The National TPS Alliance filed an opposition to the request on the same day. On September 29, National TPS Alliance filed a response.
Trump v. Orr: The government filed an emergency application on September 19 requesting the Supreme Court to stay an injunction issued by a district court that requires the State Department to allow transgender and nonbinary people to choose the sex designation on their passports. Justice Jackson formally set a deadline of October 4 for a response to the application.