Donald Trump will appeal 'flawed' court block on his 'Muslim ban', White House says

White House spokesman Sean Spicer defended the blocked travel ban

Mr Spicer has become become a Washington DC celebrity (AP)

Donald Trump intends to appeal against the "flawed" court ruling which blocked his amended travel ban on six Muslim-majority countries, White House spokesman Sean Spicer has announced.

The press secretary said on Thursday that the Trump administration would appeal the rulings against the travel ban in the near future.

“The Department is exploring all available options to vigorously defend this executive order," he explained at the daily press briefing. "We intend to appeal the flawed rulings.”

He added: "We expect action to be taken soon to appeal the ruling in the Fourth Circuit and seek clarification of the order prior to appeal in the Ninth Circuit . The danger is real and the law is clear."

Mr Spicer cited a section of the federal regulations which states that the President can "suspend immigration if he deems necessary" and noted that the courts did not include that in their arguments.

A federal judge in Hawaii temporarily blocked the President’s second attempt at a travel ban on Wednesday. Immediately after the ruling, the Justice Department called the ruling “flawed in reasoning and in scope”.

In a statement, the Justice Department argued that the measure is well within the President’s constitutional authority to protect national security. The agency also promised to continue to fight for the restrictions in court.

On Thursday, another judge in Maryland issued a block on the travel ban that sought to prevent people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the country.

Mr Spicer also noted that this second version of the travel ban was "tailored" to the concerns of courts who put a stop to the executive order in its original form, signed on 27 January.

Mr Trump's first executive order was also met with opposition from federal courts and thousands of protesters at most major airports in the country.