President Trump Loses Bid to Have U.S. Substituted in His Place in Carroll v. Trump Libel Case

From Carroll v. Trump, handed down today by Judges Denny Chin, Sarah Merriam, and Maria Araújo Kahn:

On April 11, 2025, after this appeal was fully briefed, defendant-appellant President Donald J. Trump and the government ("the Movants") jointly moved to substitute the United States as a party to this appeal pursuant to the Westfall Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d). Attached to the motion was an April 11, 2025, certification by a delegate of the Attorney General that Trump was acting in the scope of his office or employment at the time he made the statements underlying this defamation action….

On June 18, 2025, this Court denied the motion. We write now to articulate our reasoning for that denial. Specifically, we denied the motion for three independent reasons. First, the motion is statutorily