President Donald Trump now faces the reality of a Supreme Court that is shorthanded with eight justices. | Getty Court's decision is another blow to Trump's agenda

President Donald Trump, who famously vowed to win so much the country would "get sick of winning," tried Thursday night to put a positive spin on a stinging defeat, vowing to fight on after a federal appeals court ruled unanimously against reinstating his controversial ban on travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

"SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!" Trump tweeted minutes after the 28-page decision was handed down by the the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.


The ruling was another blow to Trump’s early policy agenda. The president took office promising to repeal Obamacare, begin construction on his border wall, and deport millions of undocumented immigrants—all on his first day. Instead, his orders have accomplished far less.

None have been challenged as quickly or as broadly as the travel ban, which stranded visa and green card holders when it went into effect.

As it was when the first court issued a stay on the travel ban last week, the White House appeared caught off guard by Thursday's ruling. Top aides huddled in the West Wing to formulate a response, and as requests from network television bookers for administration officials to come on the air went unanswered, Trump himself walked into the press area.

The president repeated to reporters gathered at the White House that he believes he will emerge victorious. “We’re going to win the case,” the president said, according to a recording played by Fox News. “It’s a decision that we’ll win, in my opinion, very easily.”

He added that he had not yet spoken with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions about the ruling.

A Justice Department spokeswoman was noncommittal Thursday about whether the administration will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. "The Justice Department is reviewing the decision and considering its options," the spokeswoman said.

Trump faces the reality of a Supreme Court that is shorthanded with eight justices, who would be likely to split 4-4 on an appeal of the 9th Circuit ruling—a decision that would leave the block on his executive order in place.

The president faced nationwide protests after he signed his Jan. 27 order suspending all refugee admissions and blocking travelers, including visa-holders, from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. The order caused chaos at airports nationwide as travelers were detained, and sparked an array of lawsuits around the U.S.

District Judge James Robart ordered a nationwide injunction against enforcement of Trump’s order on Feb. 3, prompting a statement from the White House, quickly revised, calling the ruling “outrageous.” Trump also posted tweets critical of Robart, describing him as a “so-called” judge.

In arguments broadcast live on cable TV this week, the government made broad claims for the primacy of the executive branch when it comes to national security decisions—a line of argument that drew a sharp response from the 9th Circuit judges in their ruling. “The Government has taken the position that the President’s decisions about immigration policy, particularly when motivated by national security concerns, are unreviewable, even if those actions potentially contravene constitutional rights and protections,” the court wrote.

“There is no precedent to support this claimed unreviewability, which runs contrary to the fundamental structure of our constitutional democracy,” the judges added. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly and explicitly rejected the notion that the political branches have unreviewable authority over immigration or are not subject to the Constitution when policymaking in that context.”

Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.

