(CNN)President Donald Trump on Monday emphatically referred to his executive order on immigration as a "travel ban" and said his Justice Department should not have submitted a "watered down, politically correct version" to the Supreme Court.
Trump's suggestion that changes to the ban -- which, among other things, temporarily restricts travel to the US from several Muslim-majority countries -- were due to political correctness could hamper his administration's legal argument that the executive order did not target Muslims. As a candidate, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslim immigration to the United States, and Justice Department lawyers have gone to great lengths to avoid calling it a "travel ban" in court, referring to it as a "temporary pause" or simply "the executive order."
"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN," he tweeted at 6:25 a.m. ET.
"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C." he added.
People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!
The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.
He then tweeted: "The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!" before adding, "In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!"
Last week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the ban after lower courts rebuked his national security justifications for the ban multiple times.
Sen. Ben Cardin said Trump's latest words attacking his own Justice Department revealed his true desire to use the ban to discriminate on religious grounds.
"It clearly shows his intent," the Maryland Democrat told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day" Monday. "His lawyers try to justify it by saying it wasn't a travel ban, but it was extreme vetting. The President made that clear. It is a travel ban."
Trump admin defends travel ban in court 02:01
As Justice Department attorneys have worked to convince courts not to look at Trump's statements in weighing the legal justifications of the travel ban, the President is not backing down -- instead, he's commenting more.
While DOJ lawyers argue that the revised ban is a significant change from the original order, Trump is minimizing the differences by calling it a "politically correct version."
Challengers could read his statements Monday morning as intent to disfavor Muslims in the ban, a point that has doomed the executive orders in court so far. In court briefs, DOJ lawyers have said the orders are "religion-neutral" in operation, drawing "distinctions among countries based on national-security risks identified by Congress and the Executive Branch, not religion, and applies evenhandedly in the six designated countries."
WH adviser: Trump tweets aren't policy 01:44
It's also notable that the revised travel ban was authored by Trump's administration and signed by the President himself -- his Justice Department's role is defending its legality.
Sebastian Gorka, a White House national security aide, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day" Monday in the wake of the President's tweets that the travel ban was essential to protecting the US.
"The fact is, it's been the same since the beginning, from the first executive order to the second executive order. It's one thing, Chris: It's about protecting Americans," he said.
Monday afternoon, the American Civil Liberties Union, which is serving as co-counsel representing the plaintiffs in the case before the Supreme Court, confirmed it was considering using Trump's morning tweets in its argument.
And Neal Katyal, who is representing the state of Hawaii, which successfully sued for a nationwide injunction to the revised executive order, rifled off his own tweet:
Tapper hits Spicer for scolding media on 'ban' 01:57
And Trump has previously complained about the revised order, which removed Iraq from the initial seven countries listed in the first ban.
"That's what I wanted to do in the first place," he added.
CNN's Laura Jarrett and David Wright contributed to this report.
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Trump says he's calling it a 'travel ban' - CNN