Trump's Justice Department formally files an appeal to overturn judge's ruling

The Department of Justice formally filed an appeal late Saturday asking that a federal judge's ruling on President Donald Trump's recent executive order on immigration and refugees be set aside.

The federal government's request for an emergency stay was filed Saturday night with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The filing asks the court to lift an order from a day earlier from a federal district court judge in Washington state.

That justice, Seattle-based Judge James Robart, temporarily halted the implementation of Trump's recent executive order effective the minute his ruling was made official on Friday.

Trump's executive order temporarily halted the U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days while indefinitely suspending the Syrian refugee resettlement program. In addition, the executive order blocked travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

Robart's ruling came in response to a lawsuit that argued Trump's executive order targeted Muslims and violated the constitutional rights of refugees.

In response to Robart's ruling, the Department of Homeland Security announced Saturday they were suspending any implementation of Trump's travel ban as the Justice Department prepared its legal challenge.

Trump later lashed out at Robart on Twitter Saturday, labeling the George W. Bush-appointed justice a "so-called judge."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.