The White House urged a federal appeals court on Monday to proceed "expeditiously" in its handling of a case involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, hours after the Supreme Court declined to skip that step and directly hear the Trump administration's appeal.

"We look forward to having this case expeditiously heard by the appeals court and, if necessary, the Supreme Court, where we filly expect to prevail," deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement.

The court's rejection of the case comes weeks after U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup issued a preliminary injunction against the administration's decision to wind down the Obama-era program, which currently shields an estimated 800,000 undocumented youth from deportation, by March 5.

"The district judge's decision to unilaterally re-impose a program that Congress had explicitly and repeatedly rejected is a usurpation of legislative authority," Shah said. He said the injunction "occurs at a time when elected representatives in Congress are actively debating" immigration policy and a solution for undocumented youth.

Under the order issued by Alsup, the Department of Homeland Security must accept renewal applications by current DACA recipients.

President Trump reacted to the Supreme Court's decision on Monday by slamming the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is due to hear the administration's appeal. Trump said "nothing" is as bad as the San Francisco-based appellate court.

"We'll see what happens. That's my attitude," Trump added.