Bob Ferguson is declaring victory.
Washington state’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson says President Trump is effectively conceding defeat in a lawsuit brought by Ferguson’s office, with the announcement today that the DOJ will not further appeal court rulings that blocked his executive order on immigration.
In a press release, Ferguson called Trump’s plans to replace the controversial travel ban with a new executive order an admission that “the federal government recognizes the obvious — the President’s current Executive Order violates the Constitution.”
He was referring to a brief filed by the Department of Justice today, in which the federal government said it will not pursue further litigation on the executive order despite flaws in the unanimous decision laid down by the panel of Ninth Circuit judges.
“Rather than continuing this litigation, the President intends in the near future to rescind the Order and replace it with a new, substantially revised Executive Order to eliminate what the panel erroneously thought were constitutional concerns,” the brief says.
The Trump administration is asking the court to hold off on considering Washington and Minnesota’s pending lawsuit over the temporary immigration ban until the revised executive order is issued.
Washington state’s case against Trump has garnered widespread support from other states and the tech and business community. Amazon and Expedia immediately filed formal declarations of support when Ferguson brought the lawsuit and more than 100 additional tech companies signed an amicus brief supporting Washington in the weeks following.
It has been a good week for Ferguson, who also won a state Supreme Court verdict in high-profile LGBT rights case.
Trump said he plans to release the revised executive order next week.
