‘SEE YOU IN COURT’: Trump indicates he’ll take travel ban to Supreme Court
President Trump reacted on Twitter Thursday evening after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reinstate his ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations. The three-judge panel ruled unanimously, finding that the government lawyers failed to show they were likely to prevail on the merits. In his Twitter message, which was written in all capital letters, Trump indicated he will have Justice Department attorneys appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
White House director of social media Dan Scavino did not immediately respond to an email from Yahoo News asking whether the president planned to send any more tweets about the court decision on Thursday night. Trump also discussed the ruling in an impromptu appearance before reporters at the White House, where he called it a “political decision” and reiterated his desire to appeal.
“It’s a political decision and we’re going to see them in court, and I look forward to doing it,” Trump said. “We have a situation where the security of our country is at stake, and it’s a very very serious situation.”
Reporters also asked Trump if he was concerned the legal setback “undercut the early days” of his presidency.
“No. This is just a decision that came down, but we’re going to win the case,” Trump said.
The president’s Supreme Court justice nominee, Neil Gorsuch, has yet to be confirmed. If the case comes before the current eight-member Supreme Court and the justices deadlock, the 9th Circuit ruling will remain in place.
Trump signed the executive order on Jan 27. The order largely affected citizens from Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Iran, barring entry from these countries into the United States for 90 days. It also indefinitely halted the entry of refugees from Syria and put a 120-day hold on refugees from elsewhere.
The travel ban immediately led to protests and legal challenges, including one from the state of Washington, which argued that Trump’s executive order violated the Constitution’s ban on religious discrimination. On Feb. 3, a district court judge in Washington issued a temporary restraining order halting the ban until arguments in the case could be heard. The Justice Department filed an emergency motion in the 9th Circuit to have the restraining order lifted. The three judges on the panel began considering that motion on Tuesday night and left the restraining order in place while they heard arguments.
Trump previously blasted the 9th Circuit judges in a speech on Wednesday morning where he expressed dismay the case was “going on for so long” and suggested it was “political” and “biased” for the court to not immediately reinstate the ban. The president said the merits of his position should be obvious to anyone.
“You can be a lawyer. Or you don’t have to be a lawyer. If you were a good student in high school, or a bad student in high school, you can understand this,” he said.
Government lawyers argued that U.S. law very clearly grants the president broad authority to decide who can enter the country. The 9th Circuit judges acknowledged this in their ruling, but said this doesn’t prevent courts from reviewing executive orders for constitutionality.
In his response to the appeal, Washington State Solicitor General Noah Purcell pointed to statements Trump made during his campaign last year where he called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims.” He also noted that, on the day he signed the executive order, Trump suggested steps would be taken to prioritize Christian refugees. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a top Trump ally, has said he helped craft the order after the president asked him to find a legal way to implement a “Muslim ban.” However, the White House has repeatedly insisted the order is not a “Muslim ban” and is merely an attempt to impose “extreme vetting” for people entering the country from certain nations.
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