Overview
- The Justice Department initially moved to abandon its defense of executive orders targeting specific law firms, then reinstated its appeal the next day.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the reversal occurred at the president’s direction.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump objected in the Oval Office, telling aides, “I never signed off on that,” according to people familiar with the matter.
- After resuming the case, DOJ filed an unusually combative brief that criticized the federal judiciary for encroaching on presidential authority.
- The consolidated appeals in the D.C. Circuit remain active, with Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey expected to file responses later this month.