The new administration does not yet have a confirmed defense secretary, attorney general or solicitor general in place.

A three-judge appeals panel will decide whether the plea deal Khalid Shaikh Mohammed reached to avoid a death-penalty trial remains valid.

A judge cited winter weather and a federal holiday for Jimmy Carter’s funeral as reasons for the delay. Government lawyers may also try again to overturn the plea deal.

The three-judge decision appeared, at least for now, to put plea proceedings for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two others back on track to take place in early January at Guantánamo Bay.