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The Supreme Court on Monday denied the government’s application to stay Judge Indira Talwani’s (D. Mass.) preliminary injunction barring the U.S. Postal Service from implementing the mandatory sections of its mail-in ballot rule, finding the government “unlikely to succeed on the merits.” Justice Kavanaugh concurred on the narrower ground that applying the rule this year would violate the Administrative Procedure Act because election officials “do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.” Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented. (Order.) (SCOTUSblog.) For background on the rule’s litigation, see yesterday’s Roundup.
Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed former CIA Director John O. Brennan to testify before a Fort Pierce, Florida, grand jury on Oct. 15, according to a declaration his counsel filed Monday in Brennan’s records-preservation suit against the administration. The declaration states that Brennan is a target of an investigation into statements he made to Congress and a subject of a broader investigation into an alleged conspiracy to violate President Trump’s civil rights. (Declaration.) (Politico.) For background on the alleged conspiracy, see previous Roundups.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Alex Padilla on Monday released a whistleblower disclosure alleging that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers were directed to impersonate individual voters to access voter records on state election websites in the Department of Homeland Security’s search for noncitizen voters. The disclosure states that the searches may violate state laws restricting those lookup tools to the voters themselves. (Letter.) (Disclosure.) (NYT.)
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia, along with a coalition of cities led by New York City, on Monday filed separate challenges in the Southern District of New York to a new DHS rule expanding the public benefits immigration officers may consider in deciding whether a visa or green-card applicant is likely to become a “public charge.” The rule takes effect Friday. (Complaint.) (Complaint.) (Final Rule.) (NYT.) (WSJ.)
Judge Emil Bove III (3d Cir.) on Monday denied a motion seeking his disqualification from an immigration appeal, rejecting as “unserious” the argument that a January 2025 memorandum he issued as Acting Deputy Attorney General requires recusal. (Order.)
Sens. Cynthia Lummis, John Boozman, and Tim Scott on Monday released the final text of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would require the president, other elected federal officials, and their spouses to divest any significant financial interest in a business that issues or sponsors digital assets, or to place it in a qualified blind trust. A cloture vote is scheduled for Tuesday. (Bill Text.) (WaPo.) For analysis of an earlier version of the provision, see Bob Bauer’s July essay.
Paul Rasmussen and Annette Kwan argued that military officers have no constitutional warrant to block a president’s decisions; rather, the check on a president belongs to Congress, the courts, and the public. (Just Security.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters: The government filed an application to the Supreme Court on September 8 seeking a stay pending appeal of a June 22 order issued by Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan (D.D.C.) that vacated a Department of Homeland Security program that used Social Security data to verify voters’ citizenship status. Chief Justice Roberts set a response deadline of 4 p.m. on September 15.