Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas (S.D.N.Y.) on Monday denied the Department of Transportation’s motion for a stay pending appeal of her temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from pausing funds for the Hudson Tunnel Project, but granted an administrative stay until 5 p.m. on Feb. 12 to allow DOT to file for a stay in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. (Order.) (NYT.) See a previous Roundup for background.
Judge Christina A. Snyder (C.D. Cal.) on Monday issued a preliminary injunction blocking California from enforcing a provision of the “No Secret Police Act,” which prohibits federal law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings. She denied the Justice Department’s motion for a preliminary injunction with respect to all other provisions of the “No Secret Police Act” and the “No Vigilantes Act.” (Order.) (NYT.)
The Department of Health and Human Services is planning to cut $600 million in public health funds from California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota because the grants are “inconsistent with agency priorities,” according to documents reviewed by the New York Times. (NYT.)
The Justice Department filed a motion on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss the criminal case against Steve Bannon in which he was convicted of criminal contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena in 2021. (Motion.) (Politico.)
The Freedom of the Press Foundation filed a complaint with the Virginia State Bar against a Justice Department attorney for failing to cite adverse law in an application to search a Washington Post reporter’s home. (Disciplinary complaint.) (NYT.) See a previous Roundup for background.
Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton Superior Court in Georgia on Monday dismissed one of three civil cases related to ballots cast in the 2020 election in Fulton County after the FBI seized ballots from a Georgia election office. (NYT.) See a previous Roundup for background.
The Department of Defense on Monday conducted a strike on a boat suspected of carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. (X.) (NYT.)
In a Truth Social post on Monday, President Trump threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Detroit and Canada, “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given [Canada], and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.” (WSJ.)
Administration officials told the Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration is planning to repeal a 2009 scientific finding which formed the legal basis for the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate rules. (WSJ.)
Jamie Conrad criticized Trump administration lawyers for “aggressively pushing against established norms in legal ethics” to which state bars have largely acquiesced. (Lawfare.)
Missy Ryan discussed implications of the Trump administration’s efforts to discipline Sen. Mark Kelly for his public statement that U.S. servicemembers “can and must refuse illegal orders.” (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.