Mike Pence vows to use 'all legal means at our disposal' to reinstate Muslim travel ban as US government faces uphill struggle in court

  • VP Mike Pence made the promise while talking to Fox News Sunday
  • The said Judge James Robart's decision to block the ban on Friday was 'wrong'
  • Robart said it was unconstitutional - a decision that Pence also disagreed with
  • Justice Dept asked for the block to be lifted immediately but that was refused
  • Appeals court said both sides would have until Monday to make statements 
  • Trump blasted Robart on Twitter after the decision 

By James Wilkinson For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:15 EST, 5 February 2017 | Updated: 12:09 EST, 5 February 2017

Vice President Mike Pence promised on Sunday that he will use 'all legal means at our disposal' to reinstate the suspended Muslim travel ban.

Pence said that Judge James Robart's decision on Friday that the ban was unconstitutional and had to be delayed was 'wrong'.

'From the outset of his campaign and administration, the president of the United States has made it clear to put the safety of the American people first,' Pence told Fox News Sunday. 'We are going to win this argument.'

Vice President Mike Pence vowed to fight a Washington state judge's block on Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban on Sunday. Pence said he would use 'all legal means' to get it overturned

The block was placed by judge James Robart (pictured), who deemed it unconstitutional. A Justice Dept attempt to get the block lifted will be delayed until at least Monday

Trump's executive order forbidding citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Iran and Somalia - lasted just a week before Robart knocked it down.

The case was brought before the Seattle-based judge after a case was filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota.

Issuing a command to stay the order - essentially indefinitely postponing it, pending a successful appeal by the Justice Department - Robart said the president could not impose such a wide ban.

That was a claim that Pence told Fox News he adamantly disagreed with. 

'Under statutory law and under the Constitution, that authority belongs to the president,' he said.

But the 9th Circuit Appeals Court in San Francisco does not agree with the VP, and early Sunday morning it declined a request by the Justice Department to immediately overturn Robart's block.

The court said that the states must have an opportunity to respond to the appeal, and that the Justice Department must file a counter-response to them by Monday afternoon.

Even then, however, the government faces a tough challenge to get the executive order restored through the course. 

For one, the 9th Circuit of Appeals is one of the most liberal in the US, with 18 judges named by Democratic presidents, and only seven by Republicans.

Donald Trump blasted Robart on Saturday, promising that the 'ridiculous' opinion would be overturned. However, the appeals court refused to instantly overturn it

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Sunday that she believed the case would go all the way to the Supreme Court.

But even that may provide scant relief for the Trump administration, as it will need a majority vote of five to overturn Robart's block.

The Supreme Court is currently tied 4-4 between Democrat and Republican judges while Trump's replacement for Antonin Scalia, Neil Gorsuch, awaits confirmation hearings.

Robart's blocking of the ban, which was a cornerstone of Donald Trump's campaign, led to the president blasting him on Twitter.

'The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!' he tweeted.

He also claimed that 'Bad people are very happy' about Robart's decision. 

The appeals court is asking for both sides to make statements by Monday afternoon. Even the Supreme Court may not help, however, due to a 4-4 split between Dem and GOP judges

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