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Lindsey Halligan left the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday. (NYT.) Judge David J. Novak (E.D. Va.) on Tuesday barred Lindsey Halligan from identifying herself as U.S. attorney for the district in court filings and warned that continued disregard of binding orders holding her appointment unlawful could result in disciplinary proceedings. (Order.) See the Roundup Library for background. Separately, Chief Judge Hannah Lauck (E.D. Va.) ordered the publication of a vacancy announcement for a court-appointed interim U.S. Attorney in the district after Halligan’s 120-day appointment expired without Senate confirmation. (Order.)
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday subpoenaed at least five Democratic officials in Minnesota in connection with the Justice Department’s inquiry into whether the state’s leaders have conspired to impede federal immigration enforcement. (NYT.)
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to reduce U.S. participation in elements of NATO’s force structure and some advisory groups. Sources told the Post that the Pentagon intends to slowly wind down its involvement by not replacing personnel as their postings end. (WaPo.)
The Supreme Court today heard oral arguments on President Trump’s effort to oust Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. (NYT.) Lev Menand argued that “[i]f presidents can fire Fed governors based on unproven allegations, the barrier between the White House and the central bank would effectively collapse.” (NYT.) The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that the framers deliberately denied the president control over monetary policy to prevent executive manipulation of the nation’s currency. (WSJ.)
Roger Parloff assessed the Justice Department’s stated basis for a grand jury probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. (Lawfare.)
Yuval Levin argued that despite dominating news cycles, Trump has largely failed to achieve durable domestic policy change by neglecting core presidential tools in favor of executive leverage, dealmaking, and reprisals. (The Atlantic.)
Aditi Shah examined the proper standard for statutory ultra vires claims and concluded that courts generally should ask whether challenged executive action is authorized by law, absent a clear congressional limit on judicial review. (Lawfare.)
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. The Court set argument for January 21, 2026, and both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19.