White House seeks to regroup after stinging legal defeat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to regroup after a stinging legal defeat, President Donald Trump said Friday he is considering signing a "brand new order" after his refugee and immigration travel ban was halted in court.

[...] chief of staff Reince Priebus scrambled to clarify to reporters that "every single court option is on the table," including a high court appeal or "fighting out this case on the merits" in a lower court.

While the White House boasted that Trump was fulfilling a campaign promise to toughen vetting procedures for people coming from countries with terror ties, the order caused chaos at airports in the U.S. and sparked protests across the country.

Earlier Friday, he promised to take action "very rapidly" to protect the U.S. and its citizens in the wake of the appeals court decision, but he did not specify what steps he planned to take.

The appellate decision brushed aside arguments by the Justice Department that the president has the constitutional power to restrict entry to the United States and that the courts cannot second-guess his determination that such a step was needed to prevent terrorism.

U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle issued the temporary restraining order halting the ban after Washington state and Minnesota sued, leading to the federal government's appeal.