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Two anonymous former FBI agents filed a complaint on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia contending that the Justice Department violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights by firing them for working on “Arctic Frost,” an investigation into a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election that resulted in then-former President Donald Trump’s indictment. (Complaint.) (NYT.)
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Thursday during his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that FBI agents who had investigated Trump’s mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were fired last month for “violating their ethical obligations.” (NYT.) For background on the firings, see the Roundup Library.
President Trump said on Thursday that he has no plans to commit ground troops to the military campaign against Iran. (NYT.)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Thursday that the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funding from Congress to finance U.S. military operations in Iran. “It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth told reporters. (Politico.)
The Department of Education said on Thursday that the Treasury Department will assume responsibility for student loan oversight. According to the Washington Post, the move marks “the first significant effort by the Trump administration to chip away at the student aid office, one of the core functions of the Education Department, as it tries to dismantle the agency.” (WaPo.)
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee voted 8-7 on Thursday to advance President Trump’s nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin to become Secretary of Homeland Security to the full Senate. (WaPo.)
President Trump has reportedly said in conversations with his inner circle that he believes some of his administration’s mass deportation policies went too far and has directed his advisers to pursue a lower-profile immigration enforcement agenda. (WSJ.)
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts unanimously voted on Thursday to approve a gold coin design bearing Donald Trump’s image. (NYT.)
Alan Z. Rozenshtein argued that the government has a right to stop doing business with Anthropic but may not legally “use extraordinary national security authorities to bypass the ordinary procurement system” built by Congress. (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.
Noem 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 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.
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.