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Judge Paul L. Friedman (D.D.C.) on Thursday ruled that the Pentagon defied a March 20 court order by reimposing unconstitutional press restrictions under a revised policy. He enjoined enforcement of the challenged restrictions and ordered the government to provide press access on terms comparable to those afforded immediately after his prior order. (Opinion.) (Order.) (WSJ.) Chris Geidner summarized the opinion. (Law Dork.)
Magistrate Judge William B. Porter (E.D. Va.) on Thursday granted in part a Washington Post reporter’s motion to recover materials seized in a leak investigation. Judge Porter ordered the return of any information beyond the scope of the government’s search warrant, barred the government from accessing the seized data, and directed the court to conduct an independent judicial review of the materials. (Memorandum opinion and order.) (Politico.)
The U.S. Court of International Trade today heard a challenge to President Trump’s imposition of a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. (Livestream.) (NYT.)
House Republicans on Thursday blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass a war powers resolution to prevent President Trump from taking further military action in Iran absent congressional approval. (Axios.) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that the Senate will vote on a war powers resolution next week. (The Hill.)
The White House reportedly issued a directive on March 24 warning staff against leveraging inside information on the Iran war to place well-timed bets on futures markets. (NYT.) (WSJ.)
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has reportedly renewed the government’s Section 702 surveillance program for another year. According to the New York Times, the judge who issued the classified March 17 ruling raised compliance concerns related to certain filtering tools that could query Americans’ information. (NYT.)
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration “has reshaped the immigration bench” by dismissing more than 100 immigration judges while announcing the appointments of 143 permanent and temporary judges. (NYT.)
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.
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.