The Ninth Circuit showdown between the state of Washington and the Trump administration over the original travel ban has ended, for now. Today, lawyers for the White House dropped their appeal of the federal court decision that blocked the implementation of the first travel ban nationwide. The Trump administration also agreed to pay court costs.
“The withdrawal of the appeal may have little direct effect on the Washington and Minnesota suit, still pending before U.S. District Court Judge James Robart, who blocked the key parts of the first order last month,” POLITICO noted.
Yesterday, Trump signed a new travel ban that still bans citizens from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, but excludes Iraqis and green card holders. At a press conference yesterday, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he was reviewing the new travel ban, but hadn’t yet decided whether to file a new lawsuit.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw their appeal — and pay our costs — confirms what I said yesterday: The President’s original travel ban was unconstitutional,” the attorney general said in a statement issued this afternoon. “Contrary to President Trump’s indefensible criticisms of the judiciary, his concession today admits that Judge Robart got it right when he enjoined the original Executive Order.”
