A US judge has issued a temporary nationwide block on Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban.

The Seattle based judge ruled against government lawyers saying that there was a strong chance that a legal challenge against the ban would be successful.

The White House described the ruling as “outrageous”.

But Washington State’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson, hailed the decision.

‘‘It’s obviously a historic decision and an important for the rule of law and for the people of the state of Washington and for the people of our country. I said form the beginning, it is not the loudest voice that prevails in a courtroom, it’s the Constitution,” Ferguson said.

Since president Trump’s order, the State Department has said some 60,000 visas have been revoked. That’s lower than the 100,000 earlier reported.

The action banned travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries.

Trump has faced widespread condemnation and large-scale protests both at home and abroad over the measure.