Spotlight: Legal battle over Trump's travel ban continues

"SEE YOU IN COURT," U.S. President Donald Trump responded on Twitter after a federal appeals court on Thursday refused to reinstate his controversial travel ban.

Refusing to see it as a major setback for the White House, Trump vowed to win the battle in the end, further cracking up an already divided nation.

MORE PARTISAN BRAWL

In response to the court's unanimous vote of "3-0," Trump said it was a "political decision." The president later told reporters that his administration would win the case "very easily."

The new ruling to block Trump's order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries was seen as a victory by Trump's challengers.

The governor of Washington state, which sued over the travel ban along with Minnesota, applauded the court's decision.

Responding to Trump's tweet of "SEE YOU IN COURT," Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said, "Mr. President, we just saw you in court, and we beat you."

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra also pledged to fight on until the executive order was permanently dismantled.

The legal disputes over Trump's hardline policy seem to have further intensified clashes between Republicans and Democrats following a heated fray over Trump's cabinet picks and nominees for other key posts.

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Jeff Sessions as attorney general on a mostly party line vote of 52 to 47. Betsy DeVos was greenlighted Tuesday to head Trump's Department of Education after being rescued by Vice President Mike Pence's tie-breaker in a 51-50 vote.

Rex Tillerson, Trump's pick for secretary of state, was approved 56-43.

Such a divided Senate contrasts with the past 40 years, which saw most cabinet selections overwhelmingly approved.

The partisan tension added to Trump's frustration on delays to confirm his nominees. The new U.S. leader tweeted Tuesday: "It is a disgrace that my full cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats!"

As a rebuttal, Democratic senator Patty Murray was reported as saying that Trump was shaping a cabinet that "benefits those at the top and their allies, but really hurts the workers and families."

A FURTHER DIVIDED NATION

Since its launch on Jan. 27, the travel ban has sowed chaos and confusion, sparking furor at home and abroad.

National security veterans, major U.S. technology companies and law enforcement officials from more than a dozen states backed the legal effort against the ban.

Protests were staged in cities both inside and outside the country.

A group of United Nations (UN) human rights experts issued a joint statement saying that the executive order breaches the U.S. international human rights obligations.

While Trump's message has been criticized by experts as violating U.S. law, it appears to be resonating with supporters.

A Morning Consult-Politico poll revealed on Wednesday that Trump won a 55-percent voter approval for his immigration ban, against a 38-percent disapproval rate.

The bitter division in public will probably go on as the legal wrangling continues.

The appeals court's ruling did not resolve the lawsuit. It said that more briefing would be needed to decide the actual fate of Trump's order.

The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Trump administration in the court, said it was reviewing the decision and considering its options.

According to legal experts, the federal government can either take the case to the Supreme Court, or ask a panel of 11 judges from the appeals court to review the case.

If the Trump administration appeals to the Supreme Court, it would need five of the eight justices to vote in favor of a stay blocking the district court's ruling. Endi