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A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Friday affirmed a lower court’s injunction blocking President Trump from constructing a ballroom in the White House without congressional approval. The court stayed its decision for 14 days to allow the government to seek Supreme Court review. (Opinion.) (NYT.) President Trump announced on Truth Social that “[w]e will be immediately appealing” the adverse ruling. (WaPo.) For background, see a previous Roundup.
Judge Emily C. Marks (M.D. Ala.) on Friday denied the Southern Poverty Law Center’s motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution an eleven-count indictment against the nonprofit. (Memorandum Opinion and Order.) (Bloomberg.) For background, see a previous Roundup.
An ex-federal prosecutor filed a lawsuit on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging his firing on grounds of the First and Fifth Amendments, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Privacy Act, and separation of powers. (Complaint.) The complaint states that the Trump Justice Department fired the plaintiff hours after a decade-old blog post surfaced in which he criticized Donald Trump. (CNN.)
The White House is pressing forward with its effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked President Trump from firing her. A presidential aide notified Cook in a letter dated Wednesday that the president is “considering” her removal and offered her 21 days to respond to the allegation that she committed mortgage fraud. (Letter.) (WSJ.) (SCOTUSblog.) For background, see a previous Roundup and Jack Goldsmith’s discussion with Sai Prakash on Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter.
The Senate on Saturday confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General in a 50 to 49 vote. (WSJ.) (NYT.) Blanche will officially take the helm of a department characterized by low morale, firings and departures, and dependence on the White House. (WaPo.) For background, see a previous Roundup.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that it had revoked the security clearance of President Joe Biden’s Air Force secretary, alleging that he revealed classified information about Air Force One’s capabilities to the media. (WaPo.)
President Trump announced on Sunday that Will Scharf will replace David Warrington as White House Counsel, effective in September. (WSJ.)
Sarah Buckley argued that President Trump has exceeded his statutory authority under the Clean Air Act to roll back air pollution rules. (Just Security.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Trump v. California: The government filed an application on July 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction that blocked federal agencies from implementing certain portions of the president’s March 31 executive order entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The 23 states and the District of Columbia challenging the order filed a consolidated opposition on August 3, arguing that a stay “would allow the federal government to rush out an unprecedented, legally indefensible voter-verification and ballot-interception program.” The government filed a reply on August 4, arguing that the states rest their challenge on “speculation about what impact the Executive Order would have if it were ultimately implemented in violation of federal law.”
Alabama v. California: Twelve states filed an application on July 29 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction that blocked federal agencies from implementing certain portions of the president’s March 31 executive order entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The 23 states and the District of Columbia challenging the order filed a consolidated opposition on August 3. The twelve states filed a reply on August 4, arguing that the executive order “imposes zero obligations on the States or public.”