A Supreme Court decision pushing for the return of a man mistakenly deported to a Salvadoran prison has both his lawyers and the Trump administration claiming victory, leaving unclear if and when Kilmar Abrego Garcia will return home.

It’s the latest instance of the high court splitting the baby as Trump’s sweeping agenda swarms the justices, an approach that has left the administration wiggle room in its battles with district judges who’ve blocked the president’s policies.

The dynamic is on full display as the Justice Department declines to step on the gas to return Abrego Garcia.

“As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs. By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy," a DOJ spokesman said late Thursday.

But to Abrego Garcia’s attorney, “the rule of law prevailed.”

"The Supreme Court upheld the District Judge’s order that the government has to bring Kilmar home. Now they need to stop wasting time and get moving," attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a statement.

The mismatch quickly came to a head as the case returned to U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis for a Friday hearing, with the administration refusing to comply with the judge’s demand for an immediate update on Abrego Garcia’s status and the steps that have been taken to return him.

“We read the Supreme Court’s order differently,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign told the judge.

Ensign said the administration was still considering what information........

© The Hill