After losing a first fight in the courts, the Obama Administration signaled Tuesday that it is not going to back down in a legal battle over a temporary ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the BP spill.

Minutes after a federal judge in Louisiana issued a temporary restraining order, saying that a 6-month drilling moratorium put in place after the BP oil well blowout was "arbitrary and capricious", the White House didn't miss a beat.

"We will immediately appeal to the Fifth Circuit," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs arguing that time is needed to figure out what went wrong with the BP well.

"Continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened is -- does not make any sense," Gibbs added.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sent word that he would issue a new order to maintain the drilling ban, even after Tuesday's federal court ruling.

"I will issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities," Salazar said in a written statement.

That kind of argument is sure to be explored today in a Senate hearing, where Salazar was already scheduled to testify about federal oversight of BP by the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service.

When Salazar came before Senators a few weeks ago, he faced some pointed comments from Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and others about the moratorium, which is strongly opposed by many in the Bayou State.

As this BP story evolves, this could prove to be a very interesting part of the overall narrative.

If the White House wants to appeal to the Fifth Circuit, this matter could well reach the U.S. Supreme Court later this year.

And all the while, the oil may be still be leaking from that BP well.