Sen. Ted Cruz is predicting President Donald Trump's executive order banning seven Muslim-majority countries ultimately will prevail at the Supreme Court.

In an interview on "The Michael Berry Show" Thursday, the Texas Republican said "if the Supreme Court follows the law, federal statutes are straightforward, the president has this authority."

And, he said, the high court "is likely to conclude exactly that when the case is before it."

The comments, posted by The Hill, came after the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously a nationwide restraining order against Trump's temporary travel ban may continue while a federal judge considers a lawsuit over the policy.

Cruz said he was not surprised by the appeals panel's opinion, calling it the "most liberal activist court of appeals" in recent history.

"If you look at what the president's order did, the heart of the order was a four-month pause in allowing refugees to come to this country so we can improve the vetting of refugees," he said. "That in my judgment is explicitly legal."