Less than 12 hours after a federal judge in Seattle issued a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, the Department of Justice filed paperwork signaling its intent to appeal the order to a higher court.
Lawyers with the DOJ filed a notice of appeal in the Western District of Washington, fulfilling Trump’s vow to challenge the order.
“Obviously, we will appeal it,” Trump said in the Oval Office last month. “There’s no surprises with that judge.”
President Donald Trump speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 6, 2025, in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The filing puts the Trump administration on track to bring the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the country’s largest federal appellate court spanning from Arizona to Washington.
The Ninth Circuit has a reputation as a bastion of liberal jurisprudence – frequently blocking the policies of Republican presidents – that Trump attempted to reshape during his first term by adding 10 conservative judges to the San Francisco-based court.
-ABC News’ Laura Romero and Peter Charalambous