Executive Functions Morning Roundup
A compilation of developments related to executive power
The Supreme Court held “in abeyance” President Trump’s application to allow him to fire the head of the Office of Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger, until Feb. 26—when a temporary restraining order is set to expire. Justices Gorsuch and Alito dissented (they would have granted the application). And Justices Sotomayor and Jackson noted that they would have denied the application altogether. (Opinion.) (Commentary from Amy Howe, Politico, and Ed Whelan.)
Judge Dale Ho delayed ruling on the government’s request to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and appointed veteran Supreme Court litigator Paul Clement to present arguments on the unopposed motion. (Order.) (Commentary from Josh Blackman and Steve Vladeck, and see Bob and Jack’s earlier piece on the Adams case before Judge Ho’s ruling).
President Trump fired the chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., and will reportedly replace him with Gen. Dan Caine. Five other senior Pentagon officials were also fired—including the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (NYT.)
Judge Carl Nichols permitted the Trump administration to continue with its plans to terminate and recall from abroad USAID personnel, lifting the order halting these actions. (Order.)
Judge Adam Abelson enjoined significant aspects of President Trump’s executive orders targeting federal and federally funded programs with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. (Order.)
Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. denied a motion brought by the Electronic Privacy Information Center for a temporary restraining order—which the court considered as a motion for preliminary injunction—seeking to block DOGE personnel from accessing Treasury and Office of Personnel Management systems. (Order.)
However, Judge Jeannette Vargas extended a ban on DOGE’s access to Treasury systems. (Order.) (Helpful notes from Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein.)
Kyle Cheney also dug through court documents to shed light on what DOGE actually is and what it’s doing. (Politico.)