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Justice Alito on Monday extended an administrative stay blocking a Fifth Circuit order that had stayed the Food and Drug Administration’s Biden-era decision to allow mifepristone, a commonly used abortion pill, to be distributed by mail. The order extended until May 14 an earlier administrative stay that was set to expire Monday. (Order.) (WaPo.) (SCOTUSblog.) Adam Unikowsky argued that the Supreme Court should keep the stay in place while the litigation continues because Louisiana, the plaintiff in the case, lacks standing, and because the FDA’s decision was legal. (Unikowsky.)
The majority of a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit on Monday held that immigrants arrested inside the United States after entering without inspection cannot generally be subjected to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The ruling aligns the court with the Second and Eleventh Circuits, which have rejected the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy, while the Fifth and Eighth Circuits have upheld it and the Seventh Circuit declined to rule on the issue. (Opinion) (Politico.)
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump’s private complaints to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over leaks related to the Iran war has prompted an aggressive Justice Department push to investigate leaks, including grand jury subpoenas seeking records from reporters and discussions with the Pentagon about leak probes. (WSJ.)
President Trump said Monday he intends to suspend the federal gas tax “until it’s appropriate.” The measure would require congressional approval. (NBC.)
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.