The fierce battle over President Donald Trump’s travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court.
The president, who started the week in a trademark flurry of tweets and sharp words, including declaring “I call my own shots,” also amped up his skirmish with California leaders and dismissed negative performance polls as “fake news.”
The Justice Department filed a brief Monday asking a San Francisco-based federal appeals court to restore Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations.
The filing says Trump’s executive order is a “lawful exercise” of presidential authority.
The filing with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump’s order, which was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state. Federal government lawyers say the ruling by the judge was overly broad and should be overruled.
The court has scheduled telephone oral arguments for this afternoon.
The appeals court refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota — two states challenging it — argued anew on Monday that any resumption would “unleash chaos again,” separating families and stranding university students.
Late Sunday, dozens of tech companies, including behemoths such as Apple, Google and Facebook, joined Washington and Minnesota and filed briefs saying the Trump executive order hurts their businesses.
In their court filing, a total of 97 companies said Trump’s travel ban “hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent; increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult for American firms to compete in the international marketplace.”
The travel ban would prompt businesses to build operations outside the United States, said the companies. The long list of enterprises looking to join the fight against Trump are among the country’s biggest, most high-profile businesses and include Uber, eBay and Netflix.
Amid the controversy and protests accompanying his first two weeks in office, Trump on Monday said there’s no truth in polls showing low approval for his performance so far.
“Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting,” he tweeted on Monday.
Although recent surveys show his approval ratings in the 40s, Trump’s base is likely to reward him for his actions, say former White House aides, who note that all presidents face opposition and public demonstrations.
“It’s only a problem if it lets it stop him from doing what he seeks to do,” said former George W. Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer, who recalled a travel stop in Portland, Oregon, when protesters threw rocks at the president’s motorcade. “When it comes to policy full speed ahead, the people screaming at you can’t be convinced to be for you in any case.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s war of words with California’s Democratic leaders escalated after the Republican president said California is “out of control” and suggested withholding federal funding.
In separate statements Monday, the leaders of the state Legislature pointed to California’s massive economy and strong job growth, saying the state provides critical contributions to the nation.
“If this is what Donald Trump thinks is ‘out of control,’ I’d suggest other states should be more like us,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount.
Trump criticized California during a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday.
“California in many ways is out of control as you know,” he told Fox anchor Bill O’Reilly. “Obviously the voters agree or otherwise they wouldn’t have voted for me.”
Trump, who opposes sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, said the federal government “gives tremendous amounts of money to California.”
California House Republicans, however, are aligning with the Trump administration, urging the president to block a $650 million federal grant to fund electrification of a San Francisco Bay Area train system that would also benefit the state’s high-speed rail project.
Members of the state’s GOP delegation sent a letter asking the Transportation Department to stop approval of a grant needed to electrify a Caltrain line between San Jose and San Francisco. Future high-speed bullet trains would need electrified rails.
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