Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
A government contractor accused of leaking classified information to the Washington Post was indicted Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on six counts of violating the Espionage Act. (Indictment.) (Politico.)
The Solicitor General on Thursday submitted a brief to the Supreme Court in support of the California Republican Party’s petition for an injunction pending appeal of a district court order approving the state’s newly-drawn congressional maps. (Brief.) For background on the case, see a previous Roundup.
The United States on Thursday formally withdrew from the World Health Organization, following through on an executive order President Trump signed on the first day of his second term. (NYT.)
President Trump on Thursday signed the founding charter of his proposed “Board of Peace,” which he has advertised as a tool for rebuilding Gaza and solving global conflicts more broadly. According to the Washington Post, twenty-five countries have so far accepted offers to join the board, while five have declined. (WaPo.)
A federal magistrate judge in Minnesota reportedly refused to approve a criminal complaint charging journalist and former CNN anchor Don Lemon in connection to an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a Sunday church service. The Justice Department has been investigating the protest under the FACE Act, which makes it a crime to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health care or to participate in a service at a place of worship. (Politico.) (NYT.)
The House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly defeated a resolution that would have required President Trump to seek congressional approval before using military force in Venezuela. (NYT.)
TikTok said Thursday that it had reached a deal with a group of U.S. investors that will allow it to operate lawfully in the United States. (WSJ.)
Matthew B. Lawrence predicted that the appointment of the next comptroller general of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office will mark the latest “battlefield in the fight for the separation of powers.” (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. Both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19 and the Court heard oral argument on Jan. 21, 2026.