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Supreme Court Case Tracker

Emergency application

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. Gwynne A. Wilcox

Granted
No. 24A966Stay applicationFiled by the federal governmentPresented to The Chief JusticeFrom United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on May 22, 2025: the lower court's ruling is on hold while the appeal continues.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Jackson would have ruled the other way.

Filed Ruled 43 days after filing

What's being asked

The federal government asks the Supreme Court to pause (stay) a lower-court ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit while the appeal continues. The case is Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. Gwynne A. Wilcox.

What the Court did

Application (24A966) for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted. The March 4, 2025, order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 25&#8722;cv&#8722;412, ECF Doc. 39, and the March 6, 2025, order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 25&#8722;cv&#8722;334, ECF Doc. 34, are stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. (Detached Opinion). Justice Kagan, with whom Justice Sotomayor and Justice Jackson join, dissenting from the grant of the application for stay. (Detached <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a966_1b8e.pdf'>Opinion</a>)

Dissenting · 3recorded against the Court's order
  1. Sotomayorjoined Kagan's writing
  2. Kaganwrote a dissent
  3. Jacksonjoined Kagan's writing
Vote not published · 6the order does not say how they voted
  1. Thomas
  2. Roberts
  3. Alito
  4. Gorsuch
  5. Kavanaugh
  6. Barrett
The order records the positions of 3 of 9 justices. The Court usually does not say how each justice voted on an emergency application, so the rest are shown as not published.
Days from filing to a ruling for 102 rulings on applications decided without a response since January 1, 2025. The band is the middle half, the tick the median, and the mark this application: ruled 43 days after filing.

What it means

This is a temporary order about what happens while the case is decided, not a ruling on who is right. The case continues in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Separate writings

  • Justice Kagan, joined by Justice Jackson and Justice Sotomayor, dissenting

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 24A966. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked September 24, 2026