Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
A majority of the Fifth Circuit voted to rehear en banc its July 2 decision requiring individualized bond hearings within 90 days for certain longtime U.S. residents detained under the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy. The court vacated the panel opinion pending rehearing. (Order.) For background, see a previous Roundup.
Judge James Boasberg (D.D.C.) on Tuesday temporarily blocked the State Department’s policy authorizing visa restrictions and removals for foreign nationals involved in content moderation, fact-checking, and combating misinformation. He concluded that the Coalition for Independent Technology Research was likely to succeed on its First Amendment and Administrative Procedure Act claims. (Memorandum Opinion.) (Bloomberg.)
Judge Roderick C. Young (E.D. Va.) on Tuesday dismissed the Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking Virginia’s voter registration list. (Memorandum Opinion.) Judge C. Herrera (D.N.M.) likewise dismissed DOJ’s parallel suit in New Mexico. (Memorandum Opinion and Order.) The government has now lost 15 voter-rolls cases at the federal district court level. (Bloomberg.)
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for a confirmation hearing to serve as attorney general. (WaPo.) Bob Bauer argued that “[i]f he is confirmed, the Blanche Department will be strengthened in its resolve to support the interventions in this fall’s elections that Trump demands.” (Executive Functions.)
Jay Clayton is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee today for a confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence. (CBS.) (Politico.)
President Trump today reversed ICE’s recent directive suspending traffic stops during immigration enforcement operations. The reversal followed two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers during traffic stops in Texas and Maine that had prompted ICE leadership to suspend the tactic earlier this week. (Truth Social.) (WSJ.)
According to the New York Times, the Justice Department subpoenaed 13 law firms, including nine that reached agreements with the Trump administration and four that challenged its executive orders. The department is reportedly seeking all communications the firms had with Trump attorney Boris Epshteyn and any communications regarding agreements the firms made with the White House, in addition to depositions from firm leaders. (NYT.)