DOJ sues federal judges

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Thursday, June 26, 2025

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By Sara Merken

What's going on today?

Small businesses tapped prominent appellate lawyer Neal Katyal and former federal appeals court judge Michael McConnell in tariff case.
DOJ official Emil Bove denied advising President Trump's administration to defy court orders as he faced Democratic criticism over his nomination to serve on the 3rd Circuit
Microsoft was hit with a lawsuit by authors who claim the company used their books without permission to train its Megatron artificial intelligence model.

Trump administration sues Maryland federal judges over order blocking deportations

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File photo

President Trump's administration is escalating its battle with the U.S. judiciary over rulings that have stymied his agenda by filing a lawsuit with an unusual set of defendants: The judges themselves.

The DOJ sued the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and all 15 of its judges over an order last month that automatically blocks for two business days the deportation of migrants in the state who file a new lawsuit challenging their detention. Click here to read the lawsuit.

The administration's lawsuit argues that the standing order runs afoul of U.S. Supreme Court precedent governing the standards for when and how a court can issue an injunction and that, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, courts lack authority to interfere with deportation proceedings. A representative for the Maryland court declined to comment.

More top news

Career Tracker ...

In New York: Latham hired M&A partner Zachary Podolsky from Wachtell … Haynes Boone brought back real estate finance partner Moni Sarmadi from Goldman Sachs … Vinson & Elkins added Samuel Francis to its investment management practice from Kirkland … Ashurst tapped banking and finance partner Joe Giannini from Norton Rose Fulbright.

In D.C.: Norton Rose Fulbright hired tax partner Jeff Korenblatt from Holland & Knight … King & Spalding added former DOJ official Matt Hanson as a special matters and government investigations partner … Dechert brought on former SEC lawyer Robert Shapiro as a financial services partner … K&L Gates picked up healthcare and FDA partner Mark Ogunsusi from Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville … Former DOJ antitrust lawyer Andrew Forman joined Latham … Akerman picked up energy transactions and regulatory partner Chris Zentz from Steptoe ... Raymond Tolentino, formerly at the White House as special assistant to the president, joined Cooley.

In Houston: Vinson & Elkins rehired finance partner Caitlin Lawrence from Baker Botts … Simpson Thacher added banking and credit partner Bryce Kaufman from Latham.

Across other cities: Mayer Brown brought on Chicago-based insurance transactions partner Greg Oguss from Athene Holding Ltd … Kirkland hired broker and exchange partner Nick Losurdo in Boston from Goodwin … Eversheds Sutherland brought on corporate partner Jenny Lambert in Atlanta from PRGX Global … Vinson & Elkins added investment management partner Reed Schuster in Austin from Kirkland … Litigation partner Jonathon Egerton-Peters joined Proskauer in London from Steptoe … Michael Best tapped employment litigation partner David Szwarcsztejn in Los Angeles from McGuireWoods … Buchalter added partners in several locations, including labor management relations partner Tom Posey from Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago and Los Angeles, IP partner Noel Cook from Hanson Bridgett in San Francisco, and litigation partner Cara Thornton from Fortis Law Partners in Denver.

US Congress battle over state AI regulations heats up ahead of Senate vote

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The fight over a proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state regulation of artificial intelligence heated up today, with Republican and Democratic Senate leaders differing on whether such a measure would be tied to billions of dollars in funding to give rural communities access to broadband.

The proposed moratorium, part of President Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, faces mounting pressure from critics ahead of crucial votes by the U.S. Senate expected this week. Read more from Jody Godoy and David Shepardson.

In other news ...

With Iran, Trump placed the biggest bet yet in his high-stakes presidency … NATO leaders committed to the spending hike sought by Trump, and to mutual defense … At least eight people died and 400 were injured during nationwide anti-government protests in Kenya … The U.S. will stop financial support of global vaccine alliance Gavi, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said … Trump's budget plan would shift wealth from young to old, analysts said. Plus, with Kenyan athlete Faith Kipyegon, Nike hopes to break a record – and win back women runners.

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Sara Merken

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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