White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday slammed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for having a "horrible record of interpreting the law" during a discussion on a judge blocking part of President Trump's executive order to try to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities.
In an interview on Fox News, Spicer said Federal Judge William Orrick III agreed with Trump's interpretation of his authorities and ruled only on his interpreted intent in withholding the funding.
"Where they differed is the interpretation of the intent of it, which is really outside of what they should be looking at. U.S. code makes it clear that this president has the full authority to do what's necessary to protect this country and to present grant money in a way he sees fit," Spicer said.
Trump tweeted incorrectly on Wednesday that the Ninth Circuit itself had made the ruling this week. In fact, Orrick is a district judge who does not sit on the Ninth Circuit.
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CNN reported the Ninth Circuit is the appellate court that would hear an appeal to Orrick's ruling. The Ninth Circuit previously ruled against the Trump administration when it blocked his proposed temporary travel ban aimed at seven Muslim-majority countries.
In response to Trump's tweets, "America's Newsroom" host Bill Hemmer asked Spicer if he believed the Ninth Circuit "had it in for the White House."
"I don't know that they have it in for the White House. I think they have a horrible record of interpreting the law. That's just a fact," Spicer responded.
Spicer seemed to be referencing the court's percentage in getting overturned by the Supreme Court. Decisions made by the Ninth Circuit were overturned about 79 percent of the time between 2010 and 2015 according to Politifact.