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A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit on Friday administratively stayed a district court injunction blocking above-ground construction of President Trump’s proposed White House ballroom. The court expedited the appeal and set oral argument for June 5. (Order.) (Politico.) For background on the lower court’s ruling, see a previous Roundup.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit on Friday vacated district court orders blocking the transfer of transgender women to men’s prisons under an executive order on “gender ideology extremism.” The court held that the lower court’s analysis did not make the individualized findings needed to support preliminary relief on plaintiffs’ Eighth Amendment claims and remanded for further proceedings. (Opinion.)
Judge Jorge L. Alonso (N.D. Ill.) granted a preliminary injunction blocking federal officials from coercing Facebook and Apple to remove platforms used to share information about ICE activity, as alleged by the plaintiffs. (Memorandum Opinion and Order.)
The New York Times reported that newly obtained internal Supreme Court memos trace the origins of the Court’s modern “shadow docket” to a rapid 2016 order blocking the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. (NYT.) Sarah Isgur pointed out that the Court used the “shadow docket” to prevent anti-abortion restrictions in Texas from going into effect in 2014 and 2015. (X.) Chris Geidner argued that the Times story “highlights the conservative justices’ brazen disregard for their own rules – both then and now.” (Law Dork.)
Congress approved a 10-day extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after lawmakers failed to agree on a longer-term reauthorization. The law is now set to expire on April 30. (NYT.) (WaPo.) (WSJ.)
The Justice Department is seeking to obtain hundreds of thousands of 2024 ballots and ballot-related records from the Detroit area to investigate election law compliance. (Letter.) (WaPo.)
Joseph diGenova, a former Trump campaign lawyer, has reportedly been selected to lead an inquiry into former federal officials who investigated President Trump after a career prosecutor overseeing the case was removed last week. (NYT.)
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has adopted a more centralized and personal approach to judicial nominations in his second term, prioritizing candidates with ties to him and his administration. (WSJ.)
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with Trump administration officials on Friday to discuss coordination and safeguards ahead of the potential release of the company’s powerful new AI model, Mythos. (WSJ.)
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump “is veering between belligerent and conciliatory approaches and grappling behind the scenes with just how badly things could go wrong” in Iran. (WSJ.)
Jack Goldsmith spoke with Marty Lederman about a recent Office of Legal Counsel opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. (Executive Functions.)
Matthew B. Lawrence and Mark Nevitt argued that the Constitution’s “Two-Year Clause” could be revived to restore congressional control over military funding and constrain long-term domestic deployments. (Just Security.)
Sarah Fitzpatrick reported that FBI Director Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with erratic behavior, including alleged excessive drinking and unexplained absences. The Atlantic.)
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.