White House predicts courts will reinstate travel ban

Rebuffed in its bid for a quick reversal, the White House said Sunday it expected the courts to reaffirm President Donald Trump’s executive power and reinstate a ban on refugees and travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.

The case promised to extend into today at least, when fresh legal filings are due, and observers had no doubt the Supreme Court ultimately will have a say.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a brief order overnight, denied the administration’s request to set aside a Seattle judge’s ruling that put a temporary hold on the ban nationwide.

The lawsuit by Washington state and Minnesota said Trump’s order harmed residents and effectively mandated discrimination. Their lawyers had until 2:59 a.m. EST today to submit briefs opposing the government’s request. The Justice Department then had a 6 p.m. EST deadline to respond.

“We’ll accomplish the stay and will win the case on the merits,’’ Vice-President Mike Pence said.

Members of Trump’s Republican Party scolded him for Twitter attacks on U.S. District Court Judge James Robart, appointed by President George W. Bush, and lawmakers accused Trump of stepping over the line that separates the executive from the judiciary. To Trump, Robart is a ”so-called judge” whose “ridiculous” ruling “will be overturned.”

“The president can criticize anybody he wants,” vicepresident Mike Pence said, adding he believes the American people “find it very refreshing that they not only understand this president’s mind, but they understand how he feels about things.”