White House considers rewriting Trump’s travel ban

WASHINGTON — The White House is considering rewriting the executive order barring refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country, according to officials, indicating the administration may try to restore some aspects of the now-frozen travel ban or replace it with other face-saving measures. The deliberations come after a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco declined Thursday to immediately reinstate President Trump’s controversial directive. Government lawyers could alternatively wage a legal battle in the lower courts to address more squarely whether Trump’s directive violates the Constitution. Government lawyers also cannot undo Trump’s own campaign trail comments about wanting to stop all Muslims from entering the country and his assertion after taking office that Christians would be given priority. The court ruled that the government had not provided evidence of a national security crisis sufficient to overcome the harms two states alleged the ban was causing for businesses, universities and travelers in their states.