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A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit temporarily extended a lower court stay of a preliminary injunction blocking construction of the privately funded White House ballroom project and remanded the case. The order directs the district court to address unresolved questions about national security risks and specify how a safety exception in the injunction should operate. (Order.) (Politico.) For background on the district court’s ruling, see a previous Roundup.
Judge Amit Mehta (D.D.C.) denied Donald Trump’s motion for summary judgment on presidential immunity in civil suits over the Jan. 6 attack. Judge Mehta ruled that much of Trump’s alleged conduct could be treated as unofficial campaign activity, while also certifying First Amendment issues for interlocutory appeal and rejecting a Justice Department effort to substitute the United States as a defendant. (Memorandum Opinion.) (Politico.)
President Trump on Sunday announced a U.S. blockade on ships entering or exiting Iranian ports amid stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran. (WSJ.)
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon White House staff before he leaves office. (WSJ.)
The Justice Department on Friday fired two immigration judges who dismissed high-profile deportation cases against pro-Palestinian student activists. A U.S. official told the New York Times that six judges were fired on Friday, four of which were probationary. (NYT.)
The White House Office of Personnel Management last week fired all six board members of the Presidio Trust, which oversees a national historic site in San Francisco. (NYT.)
Politico reported on last week’s hearing before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade over whether President Trump had properly invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to justify new global tariffs. (Politico.)
Joseph Stabile argued that the CIA’s decision to retract an assessment on the role of women in white supremacist violence should raise concerns about the politicization of the intelligence community. (Lawfare.)
Jakub Kraus discussed the White House’s “highly industry-friendly” national legislative framework for artificial intelligence. (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.
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.