Rep. Peter King Thursday slammed the appeals court decision rejecting a bid by the Trump administration to reinstate a travel ban affecting seven majority-Muslim nations, saying that "the Ninth Circuit is wrong."
"I do support the executive order," the New York Republican told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. "I support it very strongly.
"The Ninth Circuit is wrong here in trying to interject its opinions or its beliefs on foreign policy and on immigration," he added. "The Constitution and statutes clearly give this power to the president.
"Legally, I would strongly disagree with it — and I assume the administration will take an appeal to the full court or to the Supreme Court."
The three-judge appellate panel, based in San Francisco, ruled unanimously late Thursday that it would not block a lower court ruling by that suspended Trump's executive order and allowed previously barred travelers to enter the U.S.
U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle had issued a temporary restraining order halting the ban on Feb. 3 after Washington state and Minnesota sued, leading to the federal government's appeal.
President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 order banned travelers from seven nations — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — from entering the United States. King characterized the decision as "a battle between the courts and the executive branch," adding that the Ninth Circuit was "the most liberal court in the country.
"That's what it is," he said. "That's where this has to be played out — and ultimately, probably, to the U.S. Supreme Court," he added. "I support the thrust of the executive order."
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