Trump's Muslim ban 2.0 is reportedly coming in just a few days
President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to sign a revised version of his Muslim travel ban this week, in what the administration clearly hopes will help him avoid the legal backlash his first ban faced.
Citing a senior administration official, the Associated Press reported that Trump is expected to sign the revamped ban on Wednesday, following his first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening.
White House officials delayed this new draft’s release, as Press Secretary Sean Spicer explained to the AP, “to make sure that when we execute this, it’s done in a manner that’s flawless.”
The president’s initial Muslim ban was immediately criticized as both racist in intent and hideously botched in its execution. It was subsequently halted by a series of judicial orders, one of which cited Trump’s own campaign rhetoric as being partially responsible for court’s decision to suspend the ban.
Following the suspension, the president angrily tweeted that he would “see you in court,” although White House officials subsequently signaled that they would focus on revising the content of the executive order, rather than appeal the judges’ opinions.
While the exact content of Trump’s new order is still unclear, a leaked draft indicates the revised ban would loosen some of the initial restrictions on green card holders and remove language that singled out Syrian refugees. It would, however, still focus on the seven predominantly Muslim nations targeted by its predecessor.
As White House advisor Steven Miller explained during an interview with Fox News, the new ban would “have the same basic policy outcome” as before.