US Vice President Says Trump Will Defend Original Travel Ban
“The president is just determined to not only defend the first executive order in the courts, which we continue to believe is fully within his purview and his presidential authority, but also to take that authority that is undisputed in the law with a new executive order,” Pence said on the CBS television program This Morning.
Federal courts blocked the administration's January 27 travel ban, which temporarily prevented people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the country. The U.S. refugee program was also halted.
More than two dozen lawsuits were filed in U.S. courts against the ban; but, it was the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that suspended the ban after ruling in a case brought by the northwestern state of Washington.
The original order caused chaos at airports as travelers, including legal permanent residents known as green card holders, were temporarily prevented from entering the country.
Pence said the revised order "should be out within the next few days."
The administration has said the new order may exclude permanent residents, which would make it more difficult for opponents to challenge it.
A White House source had previously said the new order was likely to be signed on Wednesday, but a senior administration official told CNN the signing was delayed to prevent undercutting the favorable reaction Trump expected to receive after delivering his first address to Congress.
Trump addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, and his speech generally has been well received.