Former President Trump on Monday filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block a House committee from obtaining his tax returns.

The big picture: Trump has been fighting for years to block the release of his tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee.

• His request comes after a federal appeals court last week declined the former president's request to block the release of his tax returns, CNN reports.

Driving the news: "This case raises important questions about the separation of powers that will affect every future President," Trump said in the filing.

• The filing argues that the House committee is seeking his tax returns solely for the purpose of "releasing the President's tax information to the public."
• "The Committee's purpose in requesting President Trump’s tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the [Internal Revenue Service]," per the filing.
• "No Congress has ever wielded its legislative powers to demand a President’s tax returns," Trump's team wrote.
• Trump asked the court to "grant an administrative stay" on the tax returns by Wednesday "and then to stay the issuance of the mandate pending the filing and disposition of a petition for writ of certiorari," per the filing.

What to watch: If Republicans win control of the House in next week's midterm elections, they could scrap the Ways and Means Committee's yearslong effort to obtain Trump's tax returns, CNBC notes.

Go deeper... House Oversight reaches deal with Trump to obtain "key financial documents"