The appellate court repudiation of President Trump ‘s travel ban marked the first high-level loss for a new administration that, for all the chaos it has inflicted on Washington and itself, had thus far largely succeeded in accomplishing its goals. Before the judicial panel refused Thursday to reinstate Trump’s order – which prevented entry into the U.S. from seven mostly Muslim countries and all refugees, until a lower-court judge issued a stay – drama in Washington played out as if the nation had only two pillars of power.