In an unusual set of oral arguments by conference call late Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard and questioned attorneys for the federal government and for the States of Washington and Minnesota over the government’s plea to set aside a district judge’s temporary restraining order against the Trump administration’s travel ban. The government had the burden of convincing the judges that letting the TRO remain in place while the district court heard the case would represent “irreparable harm” to the national interest and would also interfere with the president’s exercise of congressionally delegated authority over immigration law.