DOJ argues mail-voting executive order is premature to challenge as USPS, DHS, SSA stall implementation

The Justice Department files court documents on May 1, 2026, in Judge Carl Nichols's D.C. district court asking for dismissal of one of five active lawsuits challenging Trump's March 31 mail-voting executive order, arguing that because no agency has taken final action to implement the order, any legal challenge is premature. USPS chief customer officer Steven Monteith submits a declaration acknowledging the agency is "still in the deliberation phase" and has not yet proposed a rule, while noting deliberations include "legal considerations." DHS and SSA file similar declarations. A coalition of 12 Republican state attorneys general simultaneously files a brief defending the order's constitutionality on unitary executive theory grounds, arguing Congress cannot insulate independent agencies from presidential direction.