Former President Donald Trump has requested that a court pause its ruling rejecting his challenge to E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit, seeking to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The request comes after lower courts rejected Trump's efforts to challenge aspects of Carroll's defamation suit. Carroll, a former magazine columnist, has pursued legal action against Trump over statements he made regarding her allegations of sexual assault.

According to reports, the U.S. government plans to intervene in Trump's potential Supreme Court appeal of the Carroll case. The nature and scope of the government's planned intervention were not immediately detailed.

The defamation case has proceeded through multiple stages in federal court. Trump's legal team is now seeking to bring the matter before the nation's highest court after unsuccessful challenges at lower judicial levels.

A pause in the current proceedings would allow Trump's attorneys to formally petition the Supreme Court for review of the case. The Supreme Court would then decide whether to hear the appeal, though it accepts only a small percentage of cases presented to it.