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Judge David J. Novak (E.D.Va.) on Tuesday ordered Lindsey Halligan to explain why she continues to identify herself in court proceedings as U.S. Attorney despite a “binding” ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the post. For background on the legality of Halligan’s appointment, see a prior Roundup. (Order.) (NYT.)
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has reportedly produced a legal opinion justifying the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela. According to The New York Times, the memo relies on President Trump’s determination that the U.S. is in an armed conflict with drug cartels and gangs designated as terrorists. (NYT.)
Roughly 2,000 federal law enforcement agents are involved in an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, marking ICE’s “largest operation to date,” according to the federal agency’s post on X. (NYT.)
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, Jan. 6 defendants held a march at the Capitol and the White House unveiled a website that recast President Trump as a hero for pardoning Jan. 6 defendants “unjustly punished” for “peacefully protesting.” (WSJ.) (NYT.) Chris Geidner called the move a “White House web site of lies” and argued that Congress’s failure to impeach and remove Trump from the presidency for his role in the insurrection marks one of the greatest failures in modern American history. (Law Dork.)
Trump announced Tuesday on Truth Social that Venezuela will turn over between 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.
In a Monday private briefing to members of Congress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly downplayed the idea that the U.S. would seize Greenland by force, telling lawmakers the administration aims to buy the island from Denmark. (WSJ.)
The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday froze $10 billion in federal funding for services that support low-income households with children in five states controlled by Democrats. The federal agency, citing concerns of fraud, said it would require the states to submit reports accounting for their spending before dispersing any payments. (NYT.)
Steven Calabresi argued that every presidential administration from 1881 to 1901 endorsed the unitary executive theory and believed in unlimited presidential power to remove Senate-confirmed officers. (Volokh Conspiracy.)
Benjamin Wittes and Olivia Manes revisited a judicial opinion issued last month in the Abrego Garcia case due to the opinion’s ability to condense “so many of the key pathologies of the government’s approach to litigation.” (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.