Against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his pick for the next Supreme Court justice, a legal battle is raging over his travel ban involving seven Muslim-majority countries.
CGTN’s Jessica Stone reports.
When the acting top U.S. attorney, Sally Yates, refused to enforce the ban on Monday, Trump fired and replaced her.
Tuesday, the man charged with enforcing the ban said he knew about the order and denied it was targeted at keeping Muslims out of the U.S.
“This is not a travel ban, this is a temporary pause that allows us to better review the existing refugee visa vetting system,” John Kelly, secretary of Department of Homeland Security said.
But on Capitol Hill, Democrats sought to block Trump’s picks to lead government agencies in retaliation for the ban. Trump’s immigration order raised concerns among some lawmakers considering the president’s nominee for attorney general — Senator Jeff Sessions, who has been considered an advocate of a ban on Muslims coming into the country, during the past campaign.
Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a number of landmark rulings including who won the 2000 U.S. presidential election. It’s possible that one of the cases the justices could decide will involve whether non-citizens can challenge their own removal from the U.S.
Bruce Fein discusses Trump’s nomination for the Supreme Court
To discuss Trump’s nomination for the Supreme Court, CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke to Bruce Fein, constitutional lawyer.