On Monday, the Supreme Court gave Donald Trump some legal room — and, more importantly, a badly-needed political victory — when it partially lifted the block on the “Muslim Ban” preventing refugees and citizens of six mainly-Muslim countries from entering the US.
The Court allowed partial implementation of Trump’s Executive Order while it prepares to hear the case and make a final ruling in October.
See TrumpWatch, Day 158: Supreme Court Allows Partial “Muslim Ban”; Final Decision in October
I spoke with Monocle 24’s The Globalist on Tuesday morning about the legal and political issues, including the lack of clarity around what happens before any decision in October: “This Administration, when it first brought in the ban, acted so quickly in late January that there was chaos because there were no clear instructions on implementation.”
And on the significance of October’s decision:
This is going to be one of those defining moments, not just for the Trump Presidency, but for the ongoing question of the balance between the Executive and the courts in the US. If this ban is allowed to proceed, it is a sweeping victory — given the lack of clear justification for the order — that the President can do anything he wants to do just by shouting, “National Security!”. Alternatively, if the ban is finally put to rest because of religious discrimination, because of an excessive use of national security to cover up other motives, this will be a court’s expression of the limits on an executive — it cannot just say “first among equals” in all cases.
Listen from 21:53:
