Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
The Trump administration on Tuesday filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seeking a stay of a preliminary injunction that ordered the government to “make available for obligation the full amount of funds that Congress appropriated for foreign assistance programs.” The administration also requested an immediate administrative stay. Earlier this month, a panel of the D.C. Circuit vacated the D.D.C.’s preliminary injunction (Opinion) (Politico), but a petition for rehearing en banc remains pending (Petition) and the panel’s decision has not yet been implemented. See prior Roundups for more of the case’s procedural background, including the preliminary injunction and order to enforce. (Application to Stay.) (Politico.)
Judge Thomas Cullen (W.D. Va.), sitting by designation on the District of Maryland, on Tuesday dismissed the Trump administration’s suit against all 15 district judges serving in the District of Maryland. (Opinion.) (NYT.) The government has appealed to the Fourth Circuit. (Notice of Appeal.)
Judge Lynn Adelman (E.D. Wis.) denied Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan’s motion to dismiss the indictment charging her with concealing a person from arrest and obstructing removal proceedings of the Department of Homeland Security. (Order.) (NYT.) See a prior Roundup for commentary by James Pearce, arguing that the merit of the government’s prosecution is more complicated than many had asserted.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s lawyer announced on Tuesday that she would sue to challenge Cook’s dismissal by President Trump. (NYT.) A Federal Reserve spokeswoman said the Fed would “defer any decision on Cook’s ability to continue serving until there’s clarification from the courts.” (WSJ.) For a critical reaction to President Trump’s decision to dismiss Cook, see Jason Furman (NYT).
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Trump said that his administration would seek the death penalty for all murder cases in Washington, D.C. (NYT.) Regarding a potential deployment of the National Guard in Chicago, President Trump asserted that he has “the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States. If I think our country is in danger –– and it is in danger in these cities –– I can do it.” (NYT.)
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday were unable to secure a felony assault indictment against a man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent in D.C. (NYT.)
Ilya Somin argues that President Trump’s executive order directing the Justice Department to withhold federal funds from jurisdictions that allow cashless bail “for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order” is “simultaneously an attack on federalism and an attempt to usurp Congress’ spending power.” (Volokh Conspiracy.)
Keith E. Whittington argues that President Trump’s executive order titled “Prosecuting Burning of the American Flag” “does not… do much of anything to change existing law or policy.” (Volokh Conspiracy.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Noem v. Perdomo: The government filed an application on August 7 to stay a federal district court order preventing federal immigration officials in Los Angeles and six other California counties from conducting detentive stops based on the following factors, according to the application: “[1] apparent race or ethnicity; [2] speaking in Spanish or accented English; [3] presence at a location where illegal aliens are known to gather; and [4] working or appearing to work in a particular type of job.” Pedro Vasquez Perdomo filed a response in opposition to the government’s application for a stay on August 12. The government filed a reply in support of its application for a stay on August 13.
Trump v. Global Health: The government filed an application on August 26 to stay a federal district court preliminary injunction that ordered the government to “make available for obligation the full amount of funds that Congress appropriated for foreign assistance programs.”