McConnell: Congress unlikely to step in if courts throw out Trump travel ban

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump isn’t likely to get his travel ban implemented by Congress if courts strike it down.

“I don’t know that that’s necessary,” McConnell told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday. “I mean, the courts are going to decide whether the executive order the President issued is valid or not, and we all follow court orders.”

McConnell’s comments come after a federal judge put a pause on Trump’s order that barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria.

Trump lashed out at the “so-called judge,” tweeting Saturday: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”

But McConnell said: “I think it’s best not to single out judges for criticism. We all get disappointed from time to time.”

The Kentucky Republican added about the ban: “We need to be careful about this.”

“There’s a fine line here between proper vetting and interfering with the kind of travel or suggesting some kind of religious test, and we need to avoid doing that kind of thing,” he said.

Vice President Mike Pence said on ABC’s “This Week” that “the administration is complying with that order as we speak.”

“There’s simply no question under the constitution, and frankly under federal law, that the president of the United States has the authority in the interest of national security to determine who has the right to come into this country. And we’re going to challenge the judge’s order on that basis. We’re going to seek a stay,” Pence said.

“The reality is, we face a dangerous enemy. And the President is determined to use the authority that he has under the Constitution and under the law. But we’ll work through the courts to challenge the order,” he said.