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Judge Colleen Kollar-Kottely (D.D.C.) on Sunday denied the government’s request to search Columbia professor Daniel Richman’s documents without first obtaining a valid search warrant but granted the government’s request to extend the deadline to certify compliance with the court’s previous order. See previous Roundups for background. (Order.) (Motion.)
President Trump last Thursday announced that the U.S. launched a series of strikes against ISIS in Nigeria, killing “multiple” ISIS terrorists. (NYT.)
The Justice Department has launched False Claims Act investigations into Google, Verizon, and other major companies for their use of DEI policies in hiring and promotion. (WSJ.)
California’s High-Speed Rail Authority dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration for cutting $4 billion in federal funding. (NYT.)
Richard Grenell, the president of the Kennedy Center, threatened to sue musician Chuck Redd for $1 million for cancelling his annual Christmas Eve jazz concert in protest of the Center’s name change earlier this month. (NYT.)
The New York Times reported on President Trump’s record one year into his second term. (NYT.)
Dan Epps analyzed Justice Kavanaugh’s different statements about the use of race in immigration stops in his concurrences in Noem v. Perdomo and Trump v. Illinois. (Divided Argument.)
Liz Oyer, the DOJ pardon attorney from 2022-2025, contended that President Trump has “degrade[d], corrupt[ed] and politicize[d] the justice system” by granting a “string of dubious clemencies” that bypassed the typical, “merit-based review of clemency applicants.” (NYT.)
Jim Trusty, a former member of President Trump’s legal team, argued that former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Mar-a-Lago documents case was politically motivated and contained “many irregularities.” (WSJ.)
Steve Vladeck described the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. Illinois as a “significant setback for the Trump administration” but concluded that the ruling is unlikely to “bait” President Trump into invoking the Insurrection Act. (One First.)
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. The Court set argument for January 21, 2026, and both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19.