Court's rejection of immigration ban raises stakes for Gorsuch

The 9th Circuit decision to reject President Trump's ban on immigration and travel from seven majority-Muslim countries has ratcheted up the pressure on the Senate and its consideration of Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Trump's suggestion Thursday night that he would appeal the appeals court decision to the Supreme Court demonstrates the importance of the high court's role in serving as either a check or rubber stamp on a president's power.

Right now, the Supreme Court could deadlock on a decision with a 4-4 split while the vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia's seat remains open. But with the prospect that Trump could rewrite the executive order in a more narrow way, as respected Harvard law school dean Alan Dershowitz has suggested, he could try to wait until Gorsuch is seated on the Supreme Court.

That interim rewriting period, however, could in turn backfire on Gorsuch's chances of winning Senate approval, as senators further scrutinize the nominee's ability to act independently from the president.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Thursday night called on Trump to "see the handwriting on the wall that his executive order is unconstitutional."