After more than a year of intense litigation, Wednesday's oral argument wasn't quite the powerfully charged session that some court watchers anticipated. In some ways it felt oddly anti-climactic, 15 months after the initial travel ban created chaos at airports and sparked protests around the country.

The justices, while active, did not appear as animated as they have been in other blockbuster cases this term, including on gay rights and partisan gerrymandering.

Now we wait. The court's ruling is expected near the end of June. By the end of Wednesday's argument, the Trump administration appeared to have the better odds of winning at the high court, though the outcome is far from certain. Perhaps not surprisingly, the court's liberal justices expressed discomfort over Mr. Trump's efforts, but the court's conservative majority didn't seem eager to clip the president's wings, particularly given his wide latitude over the border and national security.