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Two West Virginia National Guard members were shot in D.C. on Wednesday; one died, and the other is still in critical condition. The suspected shooter is an Afghan man who worked with the C.I.A. in Afghanistan and fled the country in 2021. (WaPo.) Later on Wednesday, the Trump administration filed an emergency motion in the D.C. Circuit seeking an administrative stay pending appeal of a district court preliminary injunction barring the government from continuing the National Guard deployment in Washington D.C. (Emergency Motion.) See a previous Roundup for background. The government also said it was reviewing all asylum cases processed during the Biden administration, suspending all immigration applications from Afghan nationals, and requesting 500 more National Guard members in D.C. (NYT.) On Thursday night, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” (Truth Social.) (NYT.)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred the government’s application—pending the Court’s decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook—for a stay of a D.C. Circuit decision that allowed Shira Perlmutter to remain in her role as Register of Copyrights. (Order.) (NYT.) See a previous Roundup for background.
A panel of the Eleventh Circuit upheld a district court’s dismissal of President Trump’s lawsuit alleging that Hillary Clinton and other entities affiliated with the Democratic Party conspired to spread falsehoods about the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in 2016. The panel upheld sanctions totaling nearly $1 million against Trump and his attorneys for filing a frivolous lawsuit. (Opinion.) (Judgment.) (Politico.)
Judge R. Brooke Jackson (D. Colo.) on Tuesday granted in part plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, prohibiting federal immigration officers from making warrantless arrests in Colorado unless officers have probable cause that a person is unlawfully present and that they are likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained. (Order.) (NYT.)
Judge Scott McAfee (Superior Court of Fulton County, Ga.) on Wednesday granted the state’s motion to dismiss the case against President Donald Trump alleging that he conspired to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. (Order.) (State nolle prosequi motion.) (Politico.)
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to challenge guidance issued by the Department of Agriculture declaring that legal permanent residents are permanently ineligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The states allege that the guidance violates the Administrative Procedure Act. (Complaint.) (Politico.)
Jack Goldsmith shared a lecture which seeks to explain the paradox that “every widely recognized ‘great’ or ‘eminent’ president, and practically all of the so-called ‘near-great’ presidents, pushed the limits of executive authority so aggressively that each was denounced in his day as undermining the Constitution.” (Executive Functions.)
Paul Rosenzweig criticized a memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel affirming President Trump’s authority to strike alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficker boats, arguing that “Military officers who rely on an opinion that they reasonably should know is premised on a false set of claims do so at their own peril.” (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. Illinois: The government filed an emergency application on October 17 requesting the Supreme Court stay a district court order barring the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois. Justice Barrett formally set a deadline of October 20 for a response to the application. Illinois and the City of Chicago submitted a response on October 20. President Trump filed a reply on October 21. On October 29, Justice Barrett requested supplemental briefs to be filed by November 10. President Trump, as well as Illinois and the City of Chicago, both filed supplemental letter briefs on November 10 and supplemental letter replies on November 17.
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.