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Judge Rita F. Lin (N.D. Ca.) on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction barring federal agencies from enforcing President Trump’s directive to halt working with Anthropic. Judge Lin’s injunction also applies to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive requiring companies that work with the U.S. military to cease business with Anthropic and the Defense Department’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk. Judge Lin stayed her decision for seven days to allow the government to seek an emergency stay from the Ninth Circuit. (Order.) For background on the litigation, see the Roundup Library.
U.S. Southern Command announced on Wednesday that U.S. forces blew up a boat suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean, killing four people. The New York Times reported that the strike raised the death toll of the Trump administration’s military campaign against people suspected of trafficking drugs at sea to at least 163 people. (X.) (NYT.)
The Trump administration has reportedly opened civil rights investigations into the use of race in medical school admissions at Stanford University, Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego. (WSJ.)
The Senate voted Friday morning to partially fund the Department of Homeland Security. The bill, which would fund the Transportation Security Administration and the rest of DHS except for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, still needs to pass the House. (WaPo.) The vote comes after President Trump announced on Thursday that he would sign an emergency order to pay TSA agents during the shutdown. (NYT.)
Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has reportedly sent letters to four leading payment processors warning that they are not allowed to deny customers service due to customers’ political or religious beliefs, citing President Trump’s “debanking” executive order. (WSJ.)
The Labor Department proposed a rule on Thursday that would raise the minimum pay for foreign workers who come to the U.S. on visas for high-skilled employees. (Rule.) (WSJ.)
The New York Times reported that some federal judges are concerned that fiery opinions warning of the Trump administration’s threats to democracy risk being perceived by the public “as motivated by political animus, instead of the basic application of law to the facts of a case.” (NYT.)
President Trump is reportedly considering renovating the White House Treaty Room into a “guest bedroom with an en suite bath.” (NYT.)
David Ignatius argued that far from concealing his intentions, President Trump has “boasted” about his efforts to take over the November election. (WaPo.)
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.
Noem v. Doe: The government filed an application on February 26 requesting the Supreme Court stay pending appeal of a preliminary injunction issued by a district court preliminarily enjoining Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem from terminating temporary protected status designation for Syria. The government asked the Court to construe the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment and grant the petition. On March 16, the Court consolidated the case with a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status designations for Haiti and granted certiorari before judgment of the consolidated cases while deferring action on the government’s request for a stay.
Trump v. Miot: The government filed an application on March 11 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a lower court order postponing then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate temporary protected status designation for Haiti. The government also asked the Court to treat the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment and grant the petition.