President Trump is “absolutely not” thinking about canceling his extreme vetting executive order, press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday, saying that once they win the legal battle the policy will go back into place.
The administration must file its legal defense Monday night, after suffering setbacks in federal courts on the West Coast.
An appeals court has left a restraining order in place, meaning much of the Trump policy is inactive right now.
But Mr. Spicer said they are “absolutely not” thinking about revoking the policy.
“Once we win the case, it will go right back into action,” he said.
Under the policy, most visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries are barred from entering for the next 90 days. The U.S. refugee program is also halted for 120 days. In both cases, Mr. Trump said he wants to give the government a chance to improve its screening before restarting the programs.
Federal courts have split on the issue, but one judge in Seattle issued a nationwide restraining order insisting the Trump policy be halted. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to stay the judge’s order.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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