WASHINGTON — (CNN) President Donald Trump on Monday emphatically referred to his executive order on immigration as a “travel ban” — and said his Justice Department should not have submitted a “watered down, politically correct version” to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s suggestion that changes to the ban — which, among other things, temporarily restricts travel to the US from several Muslim-majority countries — were due to political correctness could hamper his administration’s legal argument that the executive order did not target Muslims. As a candidate, Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslim immigration to the United States.
In a string of tweets, Trump reiterated comments he made in light of the London terror attacks that the travel ban was necessary.
At 6:25 am ET:
People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
At 6:29 am ET:
The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
He then tweeted:
The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
And finally:
In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Last week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the ban after lower courts rebuked his national security justifications for the ban multiple times.
At times, Trump’s administration has insisted the executive order is not a “travel ban,” though the President himself has referred to it as such, using the term “travel ban” on Twitter in early February.
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