President Donald Trump reacted swiftly to a federal appeals court's decision to keep a restraining order against his controversial executive order in place, describing the justices' ruling a "political decision."
Trump briefly addressed a small group of reporters waiting outside White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office Thursday, saying he looks forward to challenging the ruling in court.
“It’s a political decision, and we’re going to see them in court, and I look forward to doing it,” the president said
Trump echoed those remarks on social media, tweeting,"SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!"
“We have a situation where the security of our country is at stake, and it’s a very, very serious situation and so we look forward, as I just said, to seeing them in court,” Trump told reporters.
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“We hold that the Government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay,” the panel, from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote in the decision Thursday.
Trump expressed confidence in his administration's case, saying they would "win."
“It’s a decision that we’ll win, in my opinion, very easily,” he later added.
Trump has not yet conferred with newly-confirmed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the ruling. He will be having dinner Thursday night with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, he told reporters.