In new legal briefs filed Tuesday, U.S. Justice Department lawyers argued the president has almost unfettered power to determine who holds positions of authority in the executive branch, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media. It is the first time the government has asserted such expansive powers in this case, though it has made related arguments in litigation surrounding its actions in other corners of the executive branch.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote in an order on July 30 that Lake and the government had failed to tell him of planned mass reductions in force or the "monumental personnel decision" of removing Abramowitz as director and reassigning him to North Carolina from its Washington, D.C. headquarters. Lamberth noted Lake's statement on the right-wing investigative site called "Just the News": "I'm working to eliminate the agency, and it's been a big job, but we're working hard at it."