May 31, 2026

Administrative State

Blurb:

A federal appeals court has granted an emergency motion sought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to halt contempt hearings scheduled to start this week over the deportation of suspected Venezuelan gang members.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had scheduled contempt hearings for Dec. 15 and 16, over the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan gang member under the Alien Enemies act in March of this year.

Boasberg had issued restraining orders on the deportation of two planeloads of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members, after the planes were already airborne.

When the Trump administration followed the written orders but not the judge’s oral instructions, which DOJ attorneys said were defective, and allowed the deportation flights to complete their mission to transport the detainees to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump’s administration has removed eight immigration judges from their posts in New York City.

The move is part of a sweeping national effort to restore order to the immigration system and accelerate illegal alien deportations amid surging public concern over border security.

According to the New York Times, all eight judges worked inside 26 Federal Plaza, one of the city’s major immigration courts.

The outlet cited two officials, one from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and another from the National Association of Immigration Judges, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Among those dismissed was Amiena A. Khan, an assistant chief immigration judge who supervised colleagues inside the building.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump on Thursday railed against Democratic senators using the “blue slip” tradition to block his court appointments.

In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote, “‘Blue Slips’ are making it impossible to get great Republican Judges and U.S. Attorneys approved to serve in any state where there is even a single Democrat Senator.”

“If they say no, then it is OVER for that very well qualified Republican candidate,” he continued. “Only a really far left Democrat can be approved. It is shocking that Republicans, under Senator Chuck G, allow this scam to continue. So unfair to Republicans, and not Constitutional.”

Trump concluded by calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune ‘to get something done, ideally the termination of Blue Slips.”

During an appearance on Fox News, Sen. Thune (R-SD) was asked about the matter.

Blurb:

Thirteen House Republicans broke ranks Wednesday night, siding with Democrats to move ahead on a bill aimed at gutting President Donald Trump’s executive order clamping down on federal worker unions.

The push came from Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who used a procedural weapon known as a discharge petition to force the issue onto the floor. The maneuver lets a majority of lawmakers drag a bill forward even if leadership wants it buried.

The House voted 222-200 to start debate and set up a final vote. All 209 Democrats joined 13 Republicans to advance the measure, which faces another procedural test Thursday.

The GOP defectors were Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Nick LaLota of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Mike Lawler of New York, Tom Kean of New Jersey, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, Zach Nunn of Iowa, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Pete Stauber of Minnesota, and Mike Turner of Ohio.

Blurb:

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia from federal custody, delivering a sharp rebuke to the Trump administration in a case that has ricocheted across borders and courtrooms for nearly 10 months.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Abrego Garcia must be freed from the ICE Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, saying the administration had failed to secure the required final notice of removal that would allow him to be deported to a third country, including several African nations previously floated by federal officials.

“Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” Xinis said in her order. “For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody.”

Xinis had grilled Justice Department lawyers last month during a lengthy evidentiary hearing, pushing them to prove that a final removal order existed. DOJ attorney Drew Ensign argued that a 2019 immigration judge had effectively “meant” to issue such an order. Xinis dismissed that argument outright, stating, “No such order of removal exists for Abrego Garcia.”

The Justice Department is expected to appeal, as Ensign signaled in earlier proceedings.

Blurb:

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer once again has blocked President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles, CA.

“Six months after they first federalized the California National Guard, Defendants still retain control of approximately 300 Guardsmen, despite no evidence that execution of federal law is impeded in any way—let alone significantly,” wrote Breyer. “What’s more, Defendants have sent California Guardsmen into other states, effectively creating a national police force made up of state troops.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other plaintiffs filed a motion to enjoin this conduct. The Trump administration took “the position that, after a valid initial federalization, all subsequent re federalizations are completely, and forever, unreviewable by the courts.”

The “Defendants’ position is contrary to law,” stated Breyer.

Okay, so here’s the background because this is the third time Breyer issued this ruling.

In June, Breyer ruled that Trump’s order violated the 10th Amendment and exceeded his statutory authority.

Blurb:

Here we go again: the sun rises, another federal judge kneecaps the Trump agenda. In this latest ruling, issued Monday, a Bill Clinton-appointed jurist decided that Trump hasn’t explained himself enough and “failed to justify” his decision to put a halt to the wind project madness that has swept the country.

Sometimes I wish the president would just say, “I got 77 million votes, you didn’t — that’s my justification. Buzz off.” Of course, he can’t do that:

A federal judge on Monday ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration had failed to justify its decision to suspend issuing leases and permits for new wind projects in keeping with the Republican president’s wishes.

U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston sided with a group of 17 Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia in finding that agencies had failed to sufficiently explain why they had indefinitely paused all federal approvals of wind-energy projects.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump was caught complaining about repeated blocks of his appointments after acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba resigned.

In footage posted on social media, Trump could be heard venting about his judicial appointments being blocked as the press was shepherded out of the room.

“You know I can’t appoint anybody,” Trump said. “Everybody I’ve appointed, their time has expired. Then they’re in default, then we’re losing.”

Trump’s disdain for the “blue slip” practice for judicial nominees is well known, and he’s repeatedly called for Congress to abolish it. Republicans have so far given rare resistance to Trump’s wishes, with Senate Republicans siding with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who has been a strong defender of the century-old unofficial rule.

The Senate Judiciary Committee typically doesn’t advance judicial nominees unless both senators from the state of the appointment return a blue slip in favor of the nominee. With Democrats steadfastly against Trump’s nominees, he has been forced to appoint his picks to short terms that quickly expire. Attempts to stay past their deadline have been dealt a critical blow in the courts, most recently resulting in the resignation of a major Trump ally, Habba.

Blurb:

President Trump has had enough of the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition that allows senators to put the kibosh on certain presidential nominees for positions in their home states, and he’s demanding Senate Republicans to due away with the “scam.”

In a Truth Social message posted Thursday morning, the president called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to terminate blue slips so that several of the White House’s picks for U.S. Attorney vacancies can make their way through the confirmation process. Trump also had pointed words for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying it’s “shocking” Grassley allows the tradition to continue.

Blurb:

Explosive new court documents unsealed Tuesday detail the alleged judicial misconduct of the Wisconsin judge presiding over a politically-driven criminal case targeting the attorneys who represented the 2020 Trump campaign in the battleground Badger State. Dane County Circuit Court Judge John Hyland had outside help from a former judge with a “grudge,” according to the court filings.

Hyland, in so many words, told defendants to go pound sand. He will not remove himself from the case and the march to a perfectly-timed election-year trial will go on. To the people who feel more than ever that it will be impossible to get a fair trial in far-left Dane County, the judge effectively said, Trust me.

Earlier this week, attorneys for Jim Troupis, President Donald Trump’s Wisconsin recount counselor following the rigged 2020 presidential election, filed several motions not only asking Hyland and his staff to step aside, but to vacate the judge’s August order rejecting the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. The omnibus motion and an appendix spelling out the allegations were sealed  — that is until Hyland opened them Tuesday afternoon.

Blurb:

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is teaming up with other anti-Trump prosecutors to launch a new law firm. The hordes of Mordor might be forming again. Smith tried to ensnare President Trump in two investigations, one on the January 6 riot and the other concerning Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, all of which were dismissed. The latter was part of the federal raid on Mar-a-Lago in August of 2022, which, in hindsight, sealed the Democrats’ fate regarding the 2024 election (via Yahoo! News):

Jack Smith, the former U.S. Justice Department special counsel who prosecuted Republican President Donald Trump following his first term in the White House, is teaming up with three other ex-prosecutors ‌to launch a new law firm.

Smith is starting the firm with Tim Heaphy, David Harbach and Thomas Windom, each ‌a former federal prosecutor with decades of public service.

Heaphy in a statement said the firm will launch in January and provide full-service legal work, including investigations and litigation. He said the team will design a legal practice focused on “integrity, commitment, and zealous advocacy” for public and private clients.

Thanks in part to holdups on Trump U.S. attorney confirmations by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), charges filed by Trump appointed U.S. attorney Linda Halligan against DNC operatives have been dismissed. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed the charges against former FBI Director James Comey and current Fulton County Attorney General Leticia James.

The Judge ruled the Halligan was inappropriately appointed and thus has no authority to file charges before a U.S. court. Since the judge dismissed the charges, they can be brought again. Grassley held up the confirmation of Lindsey Halligan using a Senate traditional rule called the “blue slip,” which allows a home-state Senator to hold up any confirmations of their constituents for any reason.

Blurb:

Legal Expert Jonathan Turley Explains Why Comey and James Are Not Out of the Woods Yet, Despite Cases Being Dismissed – Western Journal

George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley made clear on Monday why former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James are not out of legal jeopardy yet.

Earlier in the day, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled that Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was incorrectly appointed, and therefore, the indictments brought by her office against Comey and James were “defective.”

“All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment … constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside,” the judge wrote.

Blurb:

A federal judge gave New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey a bit of a reprieve when he threw out the Justice Department’s indictments against them.

But this does not mean they will get off scot-free.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie on Monday dismissed the indictments against the two individuals after determining that the appointment of Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was not valid. He argued that after an interim U.S. attorney’s term expires, it is up to the district court to appoint a replacement. In Halligan’s case, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed  her instead of the court.

Blurb:

Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey praised the Democrat-aligned federal judge who dismissed the criminal case against him this week.

Comey is arguing that the indictment was driven by political animus and mishandled by prosecutors.

The ruling, however, is already being challenged by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Trump admin maintains that the case was properly brought and plans to continue pursuing legal action.

Activist Judge Cameron Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee, threw out the false-statements charges on Monday.

Blurb:

A federal judge’s decision to toss the indictments against former FBI boss James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James has exposed an embarrassing failure on Capitol Hill, where Senate Republicans clung to a dusty procedural tradition that wound up blowing up two high-profile cases.

The ruling rested on the Senate’s use of the “blue slip” custom, a nearly century-old courtesy that lets home-state senators block federal nominees. Instead of scrapping what critics say has become a partisan choke point, Republicans — led by Sen. Chuck Grassley — stuck to the practice and watched it boomerang.

Grassley’s refusal to move past the blue slip stalled the confirmation of Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-picked prosecutor who led both cases. Because Halligan was never confirmed, the judge ruled she couldn’t legally handle the prosecutions, leaving the Justice Department sidelined by Senate inertia rather than the strength of the evidence.

Blurb:

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will pursue “all available legal action” after a federal judge dismissed high-profile criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Bondi spoke in Memphis while highlighting the city’s “Safe Task Force.”

She addressed the decision by U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, who ruled that the prosecutor handling the indictments, Lindsey Halligan, had not been lawfully appointed as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The ruling accepted the argument from Comey’s legal team that Halligan’s appointment was invalid, rendering both indictments defective.

Blurb:

An unelected, inferior-court activist judge tossed the grand jury indictment against disgraced former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, arguing that federal prosecutor Lindsay Halligan was unlawfully appointed.

Judge Cameron Currie, a Clinton appointee, ruled Monday that Halligan was unlawfully appointed and that the indictments against both Comey and James are invalid.

“On September 25, 2025, Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, appeared before a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia. Having been appointed Interim U.S. Attorney by the Attorney General just days before, Ms. Halligan secured a two-count indictment charging former FBI Director James B. Comey, Jr. with
making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding,” Currie wrote.

Blurb:

A federal judge on Friday blocked the IRS from sharing details of suspected illegal immigrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The 94-page ruling said that the plaintiffs – two labor unions and a nonprofit that provides tax advice – and the people whom they represent face “an imminent risk” that their confidential address information will be used by ICE for civil immigration enforcement.

“Accordingly, upon consideration of the parties’ submissions, the relevant legal authority, and the entire record, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs are entitled to a stay of the Address-Sharing Policy and other appropriate injunctive relief, and that Plaintiffs’ APA claim regarding the broader Data Sharing policy should not be dismissed,” the ruling said.

If U.S. Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX) has his way, D.C. District Judges James Boasberg will soon be impeached, if not immediately suspended. Boasberg is a Progmerican Judge whose recent rulings defy American Rule of Law on its face. The DOJ itself has intervened, filing misconduct charges against the Progmerican Judge. Now, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has joined the charge.

He posted on X: “No more delays. Judge Boasberg must be suspended immediately. Impeachment is underway. He should not get to hear another case – this afternoon I led the effort to make that suspension happen…”

Blurb:

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt Demands D.C. Appeals Judge Suspend Rogue Jurist James Boasberg ASAP – RedState

In virtually every conversation about activist judges, D.C. District Chief Judge James Boasberg’s name quickly comes up. He approved the spying on Republican congressmembers in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost probe, and he forbade telecommunications companies like Verizon from revealing that they had received subpoenas. In July of this year, the DOJ filed misconduct charges against him for making public comments implying that the Trump administration would likely defy decisions from federal courts…

In March, GOP Rep. Brandon Gill (TX-26) filed an impeachment resolution against the rogue judge, and he re-upped his resolution earlier in November. Now, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is demanding that Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Sri Srinivasan suspend Boasberg while Congress mulls impeachment proceedings.

Blurb:

US District Judge Jia Cobb temporarily suspended the deployment in a ruling on Thursday, responding to a lawsuit filed by city officials who said Trump had usurped policing powers and was using the military for domestic law enforcement.

Blurb:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s request to extend the pause of an order to fully fund food aid benefits for a few days.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson previously granted the emergency pause on an order from U.S. District Judge John McConnell from Rhode Island for the government to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Many on the left excoriated her for what they perceived as a pro-Trump order.

‘The only way to end this crisis — which the executive is adamant to end — is for Congress to reopen the government.’

Blurb:

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has just given a huge boost to California’s plan to continue building one of the most expansive digital verification regimes in the country.

The appeals court refused to rehear NetChoice v. Bonta, leaving in place a ruling that allows California to advance a system critics warn could become a statewide online digital ID requirement.

The court’s decision keeps intact most of Senate Bill 976, the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act.

The bill was signed by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2024.

The law forces social media companies to implement “age assurance” systems to determine whether users are adults or minors.

Blurb:

A federal appeals court on Sunday evening denied the Trump Administration’s request to halt a judge’s order forcing the full payment of SNAP benefits for November.

The order is on hold for 48 hours, per Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The Department of Agriculture late Saturday evening instructed states to “immediately undo steps” taken to fund SNAP benefits for November. “The US Supreme Court granted the US Department of Agriculture an administrative stay of the orders issued by the District Court of Rhode Island,” the memo read.

“Pending any explicit direction to the contrary from Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), States must not transmit full benefit issuance files to EBT processors. Instead, States must continue to process and load the partial issuance files that reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments detailed in the November 5 guidance,” the memo stated.

Blurb:

A federal judge who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump has permanently blocked the 47th president from deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, in response to demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in that city.

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, who issued a preliminary injunction last month preventing the president’s troop order, ruled Friday that Trump overstepped his authority by federalizing Oregon’s National Guard soldiers.

President Trump nominated Judge Immergut to the federal bench in 2018 during his first term.

Blurb:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily halted a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to fund November’s SNAP benefits.

On Thursday, Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell ordered the Trump administration to fund SNAP benefits amid the Schumer shutdown.

The lawless judge directed the Trump administration to divert funds from child nutrition programs to SNAP. On Friday evening, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge John McConnell’s order, requiring the administration to deliver full SNAP benefits to states by midnight.

Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX) has officially filed articles of impeachment against Progmerican Judge James Boesberg for the role he allegedly played in the Jack Smith run insurrectionist operation Arctic Frost.

The articles read, in part, “Ignoring his responsibility to wield the power of his office in a constitutional manner, Chief Judge Boasberg granted Special Counsel John L. Smith authorization to issue frivolous nondisclosure orders in furtherance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation project codenamed ARCTIC FROST.”

Gill told Fox News, “Judge Boasberg was an accomplice in the egregious Arctic Frost scandal where he equipped the Biden DOJ to spy on Republican senators. His lack of integrity makes him clearly unfit for the gavel. I am proud to once again introduce articles of impeachment against Judge Boasberg to hold him accountable for his high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Blurb:

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss the scale of the Arctic Frost investigation, how cell phone providers Verizon and AT&T responded to subpoenas in the case and more.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, is formally introducing impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Tuesday for his role in the “Arctic Frost” probe.

Republican allies of President Donald Trump have been criticizing Boasberg after news broke that he was the judge who signed off on subpoenas and other measures in former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe.

In a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court has ruled that President Trump has the constitutional authority to end the Biden-era non-binary option on passports. The ruling struck down lower court rulings halting the order.

DOJ Solicitor General John Sauer argued to the Supreme Court, “The President’s choice to revert to prior policy and rely on biological sex—a choice that bound the State Department—should be the last place for novel equal-protection claims or Administrative Procedure Act objections.”

Blurb:

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision on Thursday, allowed President Trump to enforce a new policy that has ended the use of the “X” marker on passports. The high court issued the decision in an unsigned order.

President Trump signed an executive order shortly after his inauguration, which directed agencies like the State Department and Homeland Security to issue IDs, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, based solely on biological sex assigned at birth.

This reversed prior allowances for self-selected genders, including “X” for unspecified. The anti-American ACLU represented transgender individuals who sued over the Trump Administration’s passport policy. Two liberal district court judges struck down the Trump Administration’s new passport policy.

Blurb:

The former DOJ lawyer who was on trial for throwing a sandwich at a federal agent over the summer was found not guilty by a DC jury on Thursday.

A man in a salmon-colored t-shirt was caught on video throwing a sandwich at a federal officer in DC over the summer after President Trump deployed the National Guard to patrol the streets.

The sandwich thrower was identified as 37-year-old Sean Charles Dunn, a DOJ trial attorney. A DC grand jury previously refused to indict Dunn on felony charges so the DOJ downgraded his charges to a misdemeanor and went to trial.

A DC grand jury previously refused to indict Dunn on felony charges so the DOJ downgraded his charges to a misdemeanor and went to trial.

On Thursday a DC grand jury found Dunn not guilty.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump clearly has the climate cultists and green grifters among his top targets during his very busy second term, which began with his signing an executive order in January to halt new or renewed offshore wind leases.

Now it looks like the plug is going to be pulled from a massive offshore East Coast wind farm project.

Back in September, I reported that federal regulators were moving to revoke approval of SouthCoast Wind’s construction and operations plan, the final major permit required before offshore turbine installation. The project, located about 23 miles south of Nantucket, was slated to build up to 141 turbines supposedly capable of powering roughly 840,000 homes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

A federal judge has now ruled that the Trump administration may proceed with revoking federal permits for the project.

The Trump administration signaled its intent to reconsider the permit in September, claiming that the Environmental Impact Statement for the project may have “understated or obfuscated impacts” that would possibly result in noncompliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

District Court for the District of Columbia judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled in favor of the White House Tuesday, saying that the project developers would not suffer from “immediate and significant hardship” if the administration proceeded with the reconsideration.