Court Rejects Trump Bid to Quickly Restore Travel Ban

The legal fight over President Trump's ban on travelers from certain countries continued into the wee hours Sunday morning with yet another court ruling. Where things stand as of 5am Eastern: The ban is not in effect, meaning travelers from the seven countries named in the executive order are free to enter the country. If you missed the latest back-and-forth: On Friday, a federal judge in Seattle blocked the order nationwide. Late Saturday, the Justice Department asked that the ban be immediately reinstated. And early Sunday, a federal appeals denied that request, reports AP. In its ruling Sunday, however, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco asked the Justice Department to file its counter-response by Monday afternoon.

"We'll win," said President Trump upon arrival at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday, per the New York Times. "We'll win for the sake of the country." Earlier, the Justice Department argued that the Seattle judge who blocked the decision, James Robart, had overstepped his authority, calling his ruling "judicial second-guessing." The "power to expel or exclude aliens is a fundamental sovereign attribute, delegated by Congress to the executive branch of government and largely immune from judicial control," says the brief from acting Solicitor General Noel Francisco. (Trump lashed out at the Seattle judge.)