Monday, February 06, 2017

Federal judge opposing Trump is a "mainstream Republican"

Judge Robarts - or "so-called judge" as Trump insists on referring to him - is a respected, if heretofore unexceptional, Washington lawyer, comfortable with his own convictions and unafraid of passing down potentially unpopular rulings.
He is also described by colleagues as a "mainstream Republican", in the moderate Republican tradition of the Pacific Northwest. Hell, he was appointed to the federal bench by none other than George W. Bush!
The issue is far from over, and is headed for the appeals court and probably ultimately the Supreme Court. But in handing down Mr. Trump's first public legal slap-down, Judge Robarts has single-handedly offered hope to millions of disgruntled people. And, given that Trump is already facing over 50 legal challenges to his early executive orders (about 10 times the number filed against Presidents Obama and Bush at this point in their tenures), it gives hope to those other challenges too.

UPDATE
On February 9th, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco upheld the halt to Trump's attempt to ban refugees and visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries.
An unhappy Mr. Trump tweeted in response, "See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake!", suggesting that he is still living in his own little make believe world, and that the issue is bound for the Supreme Court. 

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