US President Donald Trump is considering issuing a new travel ban executive order, but the administration could still escalate a legal dispute over the original travel ban order to the US Supreme Court.

In a step that triggered the most serious legal confrontation yet for the new Republican administration, Mr Trump two weeks ago issued an executive order banning entry into the US by refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

A federal judge in Seattle last week issued a temporary restraining order putting the travel ban on hold. That suspension was upheld by an appeals court in San Francisco on Thursday, raising questions about Mr Trump’s next step.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Florida from Washington for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first foreign leader to be hosted at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago golf resort and estate, Trump displayed a decidedly more conciliatory attitude.

After a rocky diplomatic start that included contentious phone calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the friendly weekend of meetings, dinners and golf suggests the new president is willing to invest time in developing close personal relationships with leaders he feels he can work with.

Reporters weren’t able to catch a glimpse of the two men as they played on Saturday. But Trump later posted a photo of them exchanging a high-five and tweeted, “Having a great time hosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the United States!”

President Trump and PM Shinzo Abe at a joint White House press conference. Photo: Getty

Earlier, Mr Trump said he was considering “a brand new order”, one that could be issued as soon as Monday or Tuesday if he decides to re-draft.  A congressional aide familiar with the matter indicated a revised order would explicitly exclude green card holders, permanent residents.

That change could alleviate some concerns with the original order expressed by judges in the Ninth Circuit court.

After a White House official said the administration was not planning to escalate the legal dispute to the Supreme Court, chief of staff Reince Priebus told reporters such a move was still possible.

“Every single court option is on the table, including an appeal of the Ninth Circuit decision on the TRO (temporary restraining order) to the Supreme Court, including fighting out this case on the merits,” Mr Priebus said.

“And, in addition to that, we’re pursuing executive orders right now that we expect to be enacted soon that will further protect Americans from terrorism.”

President Trump and First Lady Melania lead the way to a weekend of diplomacy, dinners and golf with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and wife Akie.

On Air Force One, Mr Trump said regarding the Ninth Circuit court fight that “we will win that battle”.

“The unfortunate part is that it takes time statutorily … We need speed for reasons of security,” he said.

CNN is reporting that the White House is reluctant to immediately lodge an appeal to Supreme Court, due to concerns that there would be a 4-4 split among judges, leaving the hold on the travel ban in place.

It also reported that the Trump administration was looking at ways to more narrowly tailor the travel ban’s language.

Earlier in Washington, Mr Trump promised to take action “very rapidly” to protect US citizens in light of “tremendous threats” against the country.

“We’ll be doing things to continue to make our country safe,” said Mr Trump during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“It will happen rapidly. We will not allow people into our country who are looking to do harm to our people.”

Heading to Joint Base Andrews on #MarineOne with Prime Minister Shinzō earlier today. pic.twitter.com/4JFhyYdeHO

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2017

Mr Trump’s order – which he called a national security measure meant to head off attacks by Islamist militants – barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except refugees from Syria, who are banned indefinitely.