Abbott says he'll appeal ruling on Tx districts - case will go straight to SCOTUS, if they take it up

BREAKING & BIG: Federal judge BLOCKS Texas from implementing new, gerrymandered maps for 2026 midterms. Judge Jeffrey Brown (TRUMP APPOINTEE) wrote opinion, joined by Judge David Guaderrama (Obama appointee). Judge Jerry Smith (Reagan appointee) dissents. storage.courtlistene...

NEW: The federal judge overseeing the DOJ's case against James Comey granted a motion to give Comey's legal team access to all of the grand jury transcripts/recordings by EOD today, suggesting Comey's rights may have been violated storage.courtlistene... 1/4

NEW: several Epstein survivors and family members of the late Virginia Giuffre pen a letter to all lawmakers urging them to support the measure to force disclosure of Epstein files. 1/2

Trump administration withdraws SCOTUS request to stay the lower courts' orders requiring full SNAP payout for November benefits, citing the end of the shutdown

OPM's post-shutdown guidance is out! Some takeaways: - All federal employees to receive back pay - Shutdown-related RIFs to be rescinded (as required by CR) - States may claw back unemployment payments fed employees received during shutdown: www.opm.gov/chcoc/la...

MA judge orders Trump admin release partial SNAP funds by 12p on 11/13. Order "does not limit the USDA from exercising its discretion and releasing 100% SNAP funding." SCOTUS has stayed lower court order requiring FULL payments to go out storage.courtlistene...

Judge Boasberg: watch your footnotes!

During a virtual press conference with Dem state AGs on SNAP, I pushed NY AG James for her thoughts about Schumer's leadership and the Senate Democrats that supported the shutdown offramp. She gave what might be described as a gentle defense of her fellow NY leader... 1/2

Just in: SCOTUS overturns lower court ruling, allows Trump admin to require passports to align with individuals' sex assigned at birth. 6-3 decision, Jackson writes dissent

I asked @secscottbessent.govpeeps.us today if President Trump would convene Congressional leaders at the WH to negotiate an end to the shutdown, given Dems resounding electoral wins last night. He said there's nothing to negotiate, doubling-down on need to reopen govt before further talks

Always a great day to be a Penn alum

SCOTUS won't immediately stay the order blocking Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to IL. Instead, Justice Barrett want both parties to submit further briefs

Judge Indira Talwani (Obama appointee) will oversee a hearing concerning the States' request for a Temporary Restraining Order at 11a on Thursday

NEWS: 23 state attorneys general and 3 governors have sued the USDA today over the Trump administration's refusal to use emergency funding to cover SNAP while the government is shutdown. Story tk storage.courtlistene...

Confirming Axios, an unsigned USDA memo I/@scrippsnews obtained says the agency WILL NOT use contingency funds to cover SNAP benefits during the shutdown 1/3

Quite the job + salary combo...

Abrego Garcia's lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, tells me in response:

NEWS: DOJ in court filing says it's eyeing Liberia as a safe third country to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia - possibly as soon as Oct. 31 storage.courtlistene...

A federal judge has expanded the TRO blocking the Trump admin's new conditions on anti-domestic violence funding to a full preliminary injunction storage.courtlistene...

News this morning: VA Secretary Collins sent a letter to Leader Schumer expressing "deep concern" about the impact of the shutdown on military families, suggesting "disruptive effects are increasingly evident."

NEWS: The federal judge overseeing Comey's indictment in Virginia is transferring Comey's motion questioning the legality of interim US Atty Halligan's appointment to a different judge, pointing to a ruling from the Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit 1/4

Confirming CNN, DHS tells me an officer was injured during an immigration arrest in LA. An undocumented alien "weaponized his vehicle" & rammed officers, DHS says. The alien was shot & one law enforcement officer hit in hand with a ricochet bullet. Both currently in the hospital

Inbox: TX Gov Abbott says he's directing a "state cleanup" of Austin, relocating homeless people and clearing encampments

Just in: a federal judge in VA grants a motion blocking the Trump admin's efforts to remove certain books concerning DEI and gender/sexuality topics from Department of Defense Education Activity (“DoDEA”) school libraries storage.courtlistene... storage.courtlistene... 1/2

A quick prime on the back-and-forth between Comey's legal team and the DOJ concerning a possible effort to disqualify his lead counsel

JUST IN: A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously DENIES Trump admin's request to stay the lower court ruling blocking his deployment of National Guard troops to IL. storage.courtlistene... 1/2

Just in: federal judge in NY grants *permanent* injunction requiring Trump admin to provide the $34M in MTA anti-terrorism funding it tried to block over NYC's "sanctuary city" status storage.courtlistene...

JUST IN: Judge Illston's full TRO blocking shutdown-related layoffs is finally out. Tl;dr: no more RIFs during the shutdown and those already carried out are stayed. Some highlights in thread: storage.courtlistene... 1/6

Comey formally informs the court that he intends to challenge the legality of the appointment of Lindsey Halligan, interim U.S. Atty for the Eastern District of Virginia storage.courtlistene...

New this morning: A federal judge says the Trump administration is essentially ignoring his order blocking the Trump administration from imposing conditions requiring states to comply with federal immigration laws in order to receive FEMA funding. 1/2

NEWS: in a new court filing, AFGE official says he has reason to believe there were 1,300 RIF notices across Treasury today and asks court to block them.

White House official confirms to me President Trump’s “announcement” tonight concerns lowering prescription drug prices. He recently announced a deal with Pfizer to pursue “most favored nation” drug prices in the US and has promised more deals with drug makers in the coming weeks

James' initial court appearance scheduled for 9am on 10/24 at the federal courthouse in Norfolk, VA

James' attorney Abbe Lowell: "When a President can publicly direct charges to be filed against someone... it marks a serious attack on the rule of law. We will fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.”

James' statement: “This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system... We will fight these baseless charges aggressively"

The indictment is out - 2 counts, one on bank fraud, one on false statements to a financial institution. storage.courtlistene...

DOJ now confirms James was indicted on bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution. Still no copy of the indictment publicly available

There's now a criminal docket, USA v James, in the Eastern District of Virginia, but no indictment unsealed as of yet. I'll share my usual caution on speculating about charges before they're filed, so be careful jumping to conclusions until we see the papers themselves

Maxwell's attorney tells me in response:

Just in: The U.S. Supreme Court DECLINES to hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal - meaning her conviction and 20-year criminal sentence remain in place.

Another SCOTUS win for Trump: majority stays a lower court's order finding that Trump admin's cancellation of temporary protective status for Venezuelan nationals was unlawful. Cancellation can move forward while case proceeds. Kagan/Sotomayor would've denied stay, KBJ dissents

NEWS: A Tennessee federal judge says Abrego Garcia is entitled to seek discovery from the government to determine if the Trump administration engaged in vindictive and selective prosecution of him. storage.courtlistene... 1/3

NEWS: In new statement, Hamas shows willingness to agree to some of Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan but wants continued conversations about those "related to the future of the Gaza Strip and the authentic rights of the Palestinian people"

A federal judge today struck down the Trump admin's attempt to block all federal education funding to NH unless it stopped engaging in activities "related" to DEI programs storage.courtlistene...

Can also confirm FDA recently approved a new generic version of mifepristone, the drug most commonly used to induce pregnancy termination. With pro-life groups fuming, HHS spox says FDA has "very limited discretion" over generics and approval does not equal endorsement of its use

Can confirm the WH sent this memo to lawmakers justifying one of the military strikes on a drug vessel in the Caribbean last month, finding drug cartels' actions "constitute an armed attack" against the U.S. and the country is engaged in an "armed conflict" with them. 1/2