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The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended an administrative stay of two district court orders requiring the federal government to distribute November food benefits, now set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on November 13. (Order.) (NYT.) Josh Blackman speculated that Justice Jackson might have summarily denied the application for stay before the Court ruled. (Volokh Conspiracy.) See a previous Roundup for background on Rollins v. Rhode Island Council of Churches.
The Trump administration and the state of Illinois filed supplemental briefs on whether the term “regular forces” in 10 U.S.C. § 12406 refers to the regular forces of the U.S. military, and if so, how it affects the administration’s domestic operation in Chicago. (Government brief.) (Illinois brief.) (ScotusBlog.)
The U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, entered the U.S. Southern Command’s jurisdiction to support operations in the Caribbean. (NYT.) In response, Venezuela’s defense minister said that the government would place “the entire country’s military arsenal on full operational readiness.” (WaPo.)
Federal defense attorneys in Los Angeles filed a motion on Monday challenging a district court ruling that permitted Bill Essayli to continue supervising the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California as first assistant U.S. attorney, arguing that his current role requires Senate confirmation. See a previous Roundup for background. (Politico.)
According to the Wall Street Journal, FBI Director Kash Patel has drawn criticism from Justice Department leaders for repeated controversies, including premature comments about a terror investigation and personal travel. (WSJ.) Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche said on X that the Journal had left out quotes they provided, with Blanche calling the reporting “flat-out false.” (X.)
The head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division on Tuesday said her office would investigate a violent incident that occurred at UC Berkeley during a protest of a Turning Point USA event, noting serious concern with “Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in CA.” (X.) (NYT.) Attorney General Bondi stated that the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force is also investigating the matter. (X.)
Jack Goldsmith and David Pozen discussed Pozen’s recent essay coauthored with Jed Britton-Purdy, “What Are We Living Through,” which presents three ways of understanding the Trump administration. (Executive Functions.)
Joshua Villanueva, Kristijan Barnjak, and Rebecca Qiu summarized the Nov. 5 oral arguments in Learning Resources v. Trump, the Trump tariff case. (Lawfare.) Bill Shipley analyzed the arguments and predicted that five or six justices would vote to uphold the tariffs. (Shipwreckedcrew.)
Lauren Voss discussed a month-long project by Lawfare to track the domestic deployment of U.S. military forces, arguing that it revealed a concerning lack of transparency and clarity regarding the mission, legal justification, and operational restrictions for their use on U.S. soil. (Lawfare.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Rollins v. Rhode Island State Council of Churches: The government filed an emergency application on November 7 requesting the Supreme Court to stay district court orders requiring the Agriculture Department to immediately transfer about $4 billion to fund November SNAP benefits during the shutdown. Justice Jackson issued an administrative stay pending the First Circuit’s resolution of the government’s stay motion and directed the parties to file supplemental briefs by November 11. The Court extended its administrative stay to November 13.
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.
Trump v. Illinois: The government filed an emergency application on October 17 requesting the Supreme Court stay a district court order barring the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois. Justice Barrett formally set a deadline of October 20 for a response to the application. Illinois and the City of Chicago submitted a response on October 20. President Trump filed a reply on October 21. On October 29, Justice Barrett requested supplemental briefs to be filed by November 10.