On January 12, 2024, Rovner informed President Joe Biden that she would be assuming senior status upon confirmation of her successor.[7] She assumed senior status on July 8, 2024, when her successor Judge Nancy L. Maldonado was confirmed as her successor.
Notable cases
On April 20, 2018, Rovner ruled against President Donald J. Trump's policy punishing sanctuary cities. She said allowing federal agencies to add conditions to grant funds without explicit congressional authority could lead to "tyranny."[8] Rovner wrote, "The Attorney General in this case used the sword of federal funding to conscript state and local authorities to aid in federal civil immigration enforcement. But the power of the purse rests with Congress, which authorized the federal funds at issue and did not impose any immigration enforcement conditions on the receipt of such funds. It falls to us, the judiciary, as the remaining branch of the government, to act as a check on such usurpation of power." Rovner was joined by Judge William J. Bauer upholding the nationwide injunction against the policy. Judge Daniel Anthony Manion partially dissented, saying he would narrow the injunction to protect only the city of Chicago.[9]
On August 27, 2019, Rovner joined Judge David Hamilton in blocking Indiana's parental notification requirement for abortions for minors. Judge Michael Kanne dissented. On November 1, 2019, the 7th Circuit denied en banc by a vote of 6–5, with Rovner in the majority. Judge Frank Easterbrook, who provided a decisive vote, called on the Supreme Court to hear the case.[10] In July 2020, the Supreme Court ordered a re-hearing in the case.[11]