McConnell: Let The Courts Decide If Trump’s Travel Ban ‘Has Gone Too Far’

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Sunday morning that “the courts are going to determine” whether President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries from entering the United States has “gone too far.”

“I think it’s a good idea to tighten the vetting process,” McConnell said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“But also then it’s important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas,” he added. “And we have had some difficulty in the past getting interpreters, as you mentioned in the earlier segment, who are helpful to us, treated properly.”

“And yet right now they’re being detained, so do you support this or do you not support this?” Martha Raddatz asked.

“It’s hopefully going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far,” McConnell said. “I don’t want to criticize them for improving vetting. I think we need to be careful. We don’t have religious tests in this country.”

McConnell said he is “opposed” to the use of a religious test in the vetting process.

“The courts are going to determine whether this is too broad,” he said.

On Saturday night, a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trump’s travel ban.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Translation: “Please do our job for us so we don’t have to face the wrath of the Trumpanzees in 2018.”

  2. Don’t worry Mitch, they will. But what will you do if Trump refuses to comply?

    And why so shy about him kicking the Joint Chiefs off of the NSC? You were not so polite to Obama.

    And why so insistent on an up or down vote for the Supreme court ? Scalia has been dead for a year.

  3. Such a brave principled man!

  4. McTurtle is a Fucking Idiot!

  5. There have been politicians who have matched Mitch McConnell in shamelessness, but few have ever exceeded him.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

130 more replies

Participants

Avatar for valgalky23 Avatar for ajaykalra Avatar for kendyzdad Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for baffie2 Avatar for lastroth Avatar for cd Avatar for go2goal Avatar for amandacorliss Avatar for darrtown Avatar for tena Avatar for antisachetdethe Avatar for j_from_texas Avatar for birdford Avatar for tiowally Avatar for karma5230 Avatar for thinski Avatar for maximus Avatar for dannysgrandma Avatar for pauldownard Avatar for anon37557014

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: