Trump puts off Supreme Court appeal over travel ban suspension

President Donald Trump has postponed a Supreme Court appeal against the suspension of his travel ban, according to a Justice Department filing on Monday.

The filing in a Seattle court asked the federal judge who suspended the Trump administration's travel ban last week not to conduct further proceedings until an appeals court has reviewed the matter again.

"At this time, defendants believe the appropriate course is to postpone any further proceedings in the district court," Justice Department lawyers wrote of the Seattle court.

Trump's order temporarily barred people from seven Muslim-majority countries from travelling to the United States for 90 days, as well as all refugees for 120 days - except those from Syria, who were banned indefinitely.

The Trump administration asked that US District Judge James Robart take no action over the lawsuit brought by the states of Washington and Minnesota while the San Francisco court decides whether a larger set of judges will reconsider the decision to turn down the government's request to reinstate the ban.

An unidentified judge on the 9th Circuit on Friday requested that the court's 25 full-time judges vote on whether the temporary block on Trump's executive order should be reheard before an 11-judge panel, known as en banc review. The 9th Circuit asked both sides to file briefs by Thursday.

The Justice Department did not say on Monday what position it would take on the 9th Circuit's en banc decision, or whether it would ultimately appeal the suspension to the Supreme Court.

In a separate court filing on Monday, Washington's attorney general said a Seattle judge should immediately allow discovery into the merits of its case.

Robart has scheduled a hearing to take place on the issue later on Monday.