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President Trump on Wednesday gave a prime-time address defending his economic policies and announcing a $1,776 “warrior dividend” for active-duty servicemembers. (Address.) (WSJ.)
Dan Bongino announced on Wednesday that he will step down from his role as deputy director of the FBI in January, after less than a year in the role. (X.) (NYT.)
The Defense Department announced on Wednesday that it was opening a formal administrative investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired naval officer, for recording a video with other Democratic lawmakers calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.” (NYT.) See a previous Roundup for background.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration has issued new guidance requiring U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices to meet a monthly quota of 100-200 denaturalization cases in fiscal year 2026. (NYT.)
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held a closed-door deposition of former special counsel Jack Smith over his investigations of President Trump. (NYT.) See a previous Roundup for background.
The House on Wednesday rejected two resolutions that would require the president to gain congressional authorization before engaging in hostilities “within or against Venezuela” or striking more vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific. (NYT.)
Two senators placed holds on the nomination of Adm. Kevin Lunday as the new Coast Guard commandant over a change in the service’s workplace harassment manual last month, downgrading the definition of swastikas and nooses from hate symbols to “potentially divisive.” (WaPo.) See a previous Roundup for background.
Chris Geidner analyzed the proposed Shadow Docket Sunlight Act and the ongoing effects of Justice Kavanaugh’s concurrence in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo on detention of U.S. citizens by immigration authorities. (Law Dork.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges: The government filed an application on December 5 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that would send a dispute over a policy governing the speaking engagements of immigration judges back to a district court, directing it to “conduct a factual inquiry [into] whether the [Civil Service Reform Act] continues to provide a functional adjudicatory scheme.” Chief Justice Roberts granted an administrative stay on December 5 and formally set a deadline of December 10 for a response. The National Association of Immigration Judges filed a response on December 10. Daren Margolin, Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, filed a reply on December 11.
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. The Court set argument for January 21, 2026, and both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19.
Trump v. Illinois: The government filed an emergency application on October 17 requesting the Supreme Court stay a district court order barring the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois. Justice Barrett formally set a deadline of October 20 for a response to the application. Illinois and the City of Chicago submitted a response on October 20. President Trump filed a reply on October 21. On October 29, Justice Barrett requested supplemental briefs to be filed by November 10. President Trump, as well as Illinois and the City of Chicago, both filed supplemental letter briefs on November 10 and supplemental letter replies on November 17.