The House Ways and Means Committee was temporarily blocked from obtaining years of federal income tax returns by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Two days before the IRS was going to give the committee the Republican's tax returns, Trump's lawyers filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court requesting the delay.
The Ways and Means Committee was given a month to respond to Trump's application.
Trump wants the Supreme Court to block the committee from getting his tax returns and those of the related entities for the years 2015 through 2020 until he formally asks the high court to allow him to appeal lower court rulings.
The Ways and Means Committee wants the returns as part of the investigation.
Trump argues that the committee is just trying to make him look bad by making his returns public.
The chief justice gives emergency applications such as this one to the District of Columbia Circuit.
A lawyer for Trump and a spokeswoman for the Ways and Means Committee did not respond to questions about the order.
Appeals are not granted by the Supreme Court.
It is not clear if enough justices on the court will agree to hear the case. The committee might not be able to get the returns for months or even years if the court does so.
Supreme Court cases can take a long time to be resolved.
If Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives in next week's elections, they will shut down the Ways and Means Committee's effort to get Trump's returns.
The committee requested the records from the Treasury Department when Trump was in office.
The panel wanted Trump's individual income tax returns, as well as the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and seven limited liability companies.
The Treasury Department denied the request because it didn't have a legitimate purpose.
The committee took the department to court in order to get the returns.
The Treasury Department had no choice but to comply with the committee's request after President Joe Biden took office.
The committee lacked a legitimate legislative purpose and the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government was violated by Trump's lawsuit.
The IRS was ordered to give Trump's returns to the committee by the judge who was appointed by Trump.
The order was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. He lost that effort in the summer.
While tax returns are confidential under federal law, there is an exception when the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee requests returns in writing from the Secretary of the Treasury Department.
The appeals court denied Trump's request that a larger panel reconsider the case. He asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
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