A federal judge has refused to immediately block President Trump’s executive order imposing tighter rules on mail-in voting, allowing the measure to remain in effect while the underlying lawsuit proceeds. The ruling is procedural rather than final: the court did not resolve the merits of the Democratic plaintiffs’ constitutional and election-law claims, but it did conclude that emergency relief was not warranted at this stage.

That distinction matters.

A D.C. Circuit panel appeared deeply skeptical of the Justice Department’s effort to revive Trump-era executive orders targeting WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, Jenner Block, and Susman Godfrey—an unusually direct clash between presidential power and the independence of major law firms.

At issue are executive actions that, according to the firms, penalize them for past client representations, internal employment and policy choices, and perceived political affiliations.