Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday denied Anthropic’s request for a stay pending review of the Department of Defense’s designation of the AI company as a supply-chain risk to national security. The court scheduled oral argument for May 19 at 9:30 a.m. (Order.) (WSJ.)
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not participate next week in a scheduled deposition before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department reportedly told the committee, which had issued Bondi a subpoena to appear, that Bondi would not sit for the deposition because she is no longer attorney general. The committee said Wednesday it will work with Bondi to reschedule her testimony. (NYT.)
The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is expected to significantly reduce its request to Congress seeking additional funding to finance continued U.S. military operations in Iran. The request is reportedly expected to be less than half of the $200 billion that the Pentagon proposed last month. (WaPo.)
The New York Times reported that a foreign steel company has agreed to donate tens of millions of dollars in steel to President Trump’s White House ballroom project. The Times reported that the company stands to benefit from adjustments the Trump administration made to tariffs on automotive steel just days after the president announced “a nice donation” of steel to the ballroom project. (NYT.)
Steve Vladeck argued that the current Supreme Court’s “history and tradition” approach to constitutional interpretation bears some responsibility for “efforts of a small cohort of right-wing law professors to provide a fig leaf of historical support” for the Trump administration’s position on birthright citizenship. (One First.)
David Graham argued that the Office of Legal Counsel opinion contending the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional “could make Trump the most poorly documented president since at least Richard Nixon.” (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. 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.
Mullin 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 then-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. On March 16, the Court consolidated the case with Mullin v. Doe.