Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship against Trump challenge, sides with states on trans ban

Vice President JD Vance called the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision striking down President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order a “major, major mistake” but argued the close vote leaves the issue far from settled.

Speaking on "The Ingraham Angle," Vance said he believes the decision leaves the legal debate “hanging by a thread,” noting some conservatives had expected the administration to lose by a much wider margin.

“The fact that this case was a 5-4 decision effectively means that the concept of birthright citizenship… is hanging by a thread,” Vance said. “We have to keep fighting… because we actually have an opportunity to reverse this decision.”

Vance added that the administration will continue enforcing immigration laws and urged Republicans to keep the issue at the forefront ahead of the midterm elections.

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday the Trump administration is exploring executive and legislative options to curb birth tourism after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order.

Speaking on "The Ingraham Angle," Vance said the administration is reviewing proposals, including one raised by legal scholar Roger Severino involving U.S. territories, as well as potential congressional action.

“I hate to call it birthright citizenship,” Vance said. “It’s fundamentally a loophole that now exists in our immigration system that rewards illegal aliens just because they have a baby in the United States while they’re in our country illegally.”

Vance said the administration is looking at “a number of things” to “close down that loophole” while continuing to push for a longer-term solution.

Constitutional attorney John Eastman argued that the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling misses what he calls the central question: What makes someone a member of the American political community?

Eastman, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute who represented parties or amici in the Supreme Court challenge to President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order, said the debate is not simply about where a child is born, but about the meaning of citizenship itself.

He argued the Declaration of Independence rejected England’s system of automatic allegiance to the Crown in favor of a republic built on the “consent of the governed.” Eastman also contended that the 14th Amendment’s requirement that a person be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States refers to complete political allegiance rather than mere physical presence at birth.

“The issue is not whether America inherited English legal language,” Eastman wrote. “The issue is whether America also inherited England’s understanding of political membership.”

Eastman argued that the current interpretation places the child of a temporary visitor on the same constitutional footing as the child of citizens or families with deep roots in the United States, despite what he sees as vastly different ties to the nation. He said the constitutional debate is ultimately about whether American citizenship reflects birth alone or membership in the country’s political community.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday that Congress is considering both a constitutional amendment and legislation in response to the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling.

Johnson said he believes birthright citizenship “has been abused” but wants to fully review the court’s opinion before deciding which legislative path Republicans should pursue.

Separately, Johnson defended his decision to send House lawmakers home early for the Independence Day recess after 13 Republicans blocked a procedural rule, preventing votes on the National Defense Authorization Act, appropriations bills and the SAVE Act. He also said he expects Republicans to complete their next reconciliation package by “the end of the fall.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson reacted Tuesday to two major Supreme Court rulings, praising the court’s decision upholding state bans on transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports while sharply criticizing its birthright citizenship ruling.

Johnson called the women’s sports decision “a victory for women and girls across America,” writing that it affirms “a simple truth: Men DO NOT belong in women’s sports.”

He argued the ruling protects the intent of Title IX, saying the landmark law has expanded opportunities for female athletes for more than five decades and that its “hard-fought gains must be defended now more than ever” as “the radical left seeks to redefine ‘woman’” and undermine women’s rights.

On the birthright citizenship ruling, Johnson called the decision “antithetical to the rule of law” and said it “endangers our national security.”

He argued the United States “should be under no obligation to permit illegal immigration to America for the sole purpose of engineering citizenship,” adding, “This issue is too important and too precious to get wrong. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the Supreme Court has done.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Tuesday the Supreme Court’s decision upholding birthright citizenship was “a very large sigh of relief” but argued the issue should never have reached the nation’s highest court.

Responding to President Donald Trump’s call for Congress to pass legislation limiting birthright citizenship, Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans of trying to “strip the right to vote away from millions of married women” through the SAVE Act, claiming the proposal would amount to a “poll tax” by requiring documents such as passports for some voters.

The New York Democrat also dismissed Republican efforts to make progressive lawmakers the face of the Democrat Party, saying similar attacks against her “don’t work” and arguing Republicans are pursuing an “unsuccessful strategy.”

The progressive added that she hopes to help newly elected progressive members navigate Congress, which she said “is not designed for working class Americans.”

First Lady Melania Trump weighed in on Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision upholding state bans on biological males competing in girls’ and women’s sports, saying Americans can support LGBTQ rights while protecting female athletes.

“As many of you may know, I fully support the LGBTQIA+ community,” Melania Trump wrote on X, quoting from her memoir. “But we must also ensure that our female athletes are protected and respected.”

She added that the Supreme Court had “legally confirmed” that schools may maintain girls’ and women’s sports for biological females, writing, “America, we can support the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and also protect opportunities for female athletes. Respect everyone and keep girls’ sports fair. Both ideals are essential.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Tuesday blasted the Supreme Court’s decision upholding birthright citizenship, calling it “one of the most destructive and outrageous decisions in the long history of the Supreme Court.”

Miller argued that “American citizenship is not the birthright of the world” and said no provision of the Constitution “can be read to require our national self-obliteration.”

His comments came after Justice Samuel Alito, in a dissent joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, warned the ruling could have serious long-term consequences for the country and argued the majority had made “a mistake that will seriously affect the country’s future.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) argued Tuesday that the Supreme Court’s decision striking down limits on coordinated campaign spending will disproportionately benefit Republicans because of the party’s fundraising advantage.

In a memo obtained by Fox News, the NRSC said the ruling “applies equally to both parties’ national committees, but the practical impact is asymmetric” because Republican committees have significantly outraised their Democratic counterparts this cycle.

The committee also argued the decision reduces the relative advantage of Super PACs over party committees and urged campaigns to preserve direct campaign funds for high-value advertising while allowing party committees to absorb costs.

Focus on the Family President Jim Daly praised the Supreme Court’s decision upholding Idaho and West Virginia laws restricting biological males from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, calling it “a win for reality.”

“Today’s Supreme Court decision on women’s sports is a win for reality,” Daly said in a statement, arguing the ruling protects fair competition and the safety of female athletes.

Daly also said the decision, along with President Donald Trump’s executive orders on women’s sports, could spur additional legal challenges to state policies that allow transgender athletes to compete on girls’ and women’s teams.

President Donald Trump offered sarcastic congratulations to Chinese President Xi Jinping following the Supreme Court's decision upholding birthright citizenship in the U.S.

"I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!" Trump wrote.

Trump has long been critical of "birth tourism," the practice of foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. while pregnant in order to have children on U.S. soil, therefore making them American citizens.

Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling upheld the practice both for foreign nationals traveling in the U.S. and for illegal immigrants.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh appears to have given Republicans a path forward on birthright citizenship with his concurring opinion on Tuesday's ruling upholding the legal standard.

Kavanaugh's was a deciding vote in the 5-4 ruling, but his concurring opinion did not reach as far as the full majority's. He did not argue that President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship violated the 14th Amendment, he instead argued that such a change would require an act of Congress.

“The Court today holds that the Order violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. I respectfully disagree with the Court’s constitutional holding. In my view, the Executive Order does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment. But the Order does contravene a federal statute, 8 U. S. C. §1401(a),” Kavanaugh wrote.

“Congress could—consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment—amend §1401(a) or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country. But Congress has not yet done so,” he added.

Kavanaugh's opinion suggests Republicans would not require a full constitutional amendment to curb birthright citizenship, as many had feared in the wake of the ruling.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has already introduced language for a constitutional amendment on the topic, and other GOP senators have expressed further interest.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, has said the House is looking into addressing the issue via legislation.

President Donald Trump lamented the Supreme Court's decision striking down his executive order ending birthright citizenship on Tuesday, but said there is a path forward.

Trump posted on his Truth Social account to urge Republicans in Congress to pass legislation limiting birthright citizenship.

"The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process," Trump wrote.

"No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!" he added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson mentioned the possibility of a constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, he criticized the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship and said Congress must act "as quickly and efficiently as we can."

"We’re looking at that," Johnson said when asked about plans for legislation.

"We need to address the issue as quickly and as efficiently as we can. Some are suggesting that may take a Constitutional amendment. As you know, that is a large undertaking. Clearly birthright citizenship has been abused," he added.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review two 2nd Amendment cases relating to Chicago gun bans on Tuesday.

The cases, Viramontes v. Cook County, IL and Grant v. Higgins pertain to whether the 2nd and 14th Amendments guarantee the right to possess an AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles, with features like detachable magazines and adjustable stocks.

Oral arguments in the cases are set to be held in the fall.

Fox News' Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Multiple top Republican senators are organizing a push for a constitutional amendment after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship on Tuesday.

Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and Eric Schmitt of Missouri all released public calls for an amendment within minutes of the Supreme Court announcing its decision.

The court's ruling finds that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to every person born on American soil, regardless of whether his or her parents are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily.

"We’re going to need a constitutional amendment," Lee wrote on X after the ruling came down.

Paul noted that he had already introduced language for such an amendment earlier this year.

Schmitt offered a more lengthy statement, calling the court's ruling "dangerous and disastrous."

"The Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship decision is wrong, dangerous, and disastrous for American sovereignty and the American people. If we can't fix it with ordinary legislation, then we must do what the Constitution commands in moments of national crisis: We must amend the Constitution and restore American citizenship. We must again put 'We the People' first," he wrote on X.

The Democratic National Committee gloated over the Supreme Court's ruling upholding birthright citizenship in the face of an executive order from President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

DNC Chair Ken Martin blasted Trump's effort as "racist" and an "anti-immigrant crusade" in the wake of Tuesday's ruling.

“Since his first days in office, Donald Trump has sought to recycle racist, debunked legal arguments to strip away the constitutional rights of American citizens born to immigrant parents. Today, he failed," the DNC wrote.

“With Trump v. Barbara, the Supreme Court emphatically rejected his anti-immigrant crusade and reaffirmed what has been enshrined in the clear language of the 14th Amendment: If you are born in the United States, you are a citizen. Democrats will continue to defend the rights of every American," it added.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin blasted the Supreme Court's decision upholding birthright citizenship on Tuesday.

The court's decision struck down an executive order Trump issued early in his term.

"Yeah, I'm not going to get ahead of the president here, but I will say I adamantly disagree with the spirit of the 14th Amendment on what the Supreme Court ruled here. I am not an attorney, definitely not a judge, but i disagree with with the court's decision here. It, in my opinion, um, if you look at the historical reason the 14th Amendment was put in place, um the way that it's being abused today wasn't the intention of the 14th Amendment, but Like I said, I'm not going to get ahead of the president on this, but I adamantly disagree with the Supreme Court," Mullin said in a statement.

President Donald Trump praised the Supreme Court for upholding Idaho and West Virginia's bans on transgender athletes playing in women's and girl's sports on Tuesday.

Writing on Truth Social, he called the the attempt to infiltrate women's sports a "ridiculous situation."

"BIG WIN: The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS. Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table," Trump wrote.

Trump used a subsequent post to praise the court for another ruling that lifted federal limits on how much a political party can spend in support of a candidate for federal office.

"The Supreme Court just took restrictions off political spending! A BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS and, more importantly, The First Amendment," Trump wrote.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship on Tuesday, striking down the president's executive order.

The court split 5-4 in the decision, with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch writing dissenting opinions.

The decision on Tuesday concluded Executive Order 14160 violates the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing automatic American citizenship for virtually anyone born in the United States, including those born to mothers who are in the country illegally.

In April, Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court oral argument in person, where most of the justices appeared to agree the Constitution, subsequent congressional laws and Supreme Court precedent-- all supported the idea of making citizens of everyone born in the country, regardless of immigration or temporary visitor status.

Fox News' Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in a key campaign finance case on Tuesday.

The case involved existing legal limits on how much a political party can spend in coordination with a candidate for federal office. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion of the court, stating that "limits on political parties' coordinated expenditures violate the First Amendment."

The court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines, with Justice Elena Kagan writing the dissent, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Most Western countries do not allow for full birthright citizenship as the U.S. does, according to data from Pew Research Center.

European countries in particular rely on traditional "jus sanguinis" or "right of blood" to determine citizenship. This means citizenship only passes from parents to children and ignores place of birth entirely.

In the European Union, no member states grant automatic, unconditional citizenship to children born to foreigners.

The United Kingdom has some allowance for birthplace, however, granting children citizenship if at least one parent is a British citizen or has obtained "settled status."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Supreme Court may have done more Monday than give President Donald Trump new firing power — it may have opened the door to a far broader challenge to the modern administrative state, the sprawling network of federal agencies that many conservatives have long dubbed the "deep state."

In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled Trump could lawfully remove Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, overturning much of the nearly 90-year-old Humphrey's Executor precedent that had protected independent agency officials from at-will dismissal.

While Chief Justice John Roberts' majority opinion held that the FTC's leaders must remain accountable to the president because the agency exercises executive power, Gorsuch argued the ruling raises a broader constitutional question over whether Congress can continue allowing executive agencies to exercise sweeping legislative and judicial powers.

"The fourth branch's powers still exist; they have just been reassigned to the President," Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion.

That observation could become the next major front in the Supreme Court's ongoing effort to reshape the modern administrative state.

For decades, independent agencies such as the FTC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Communications Commission and National Labor Relations Board have combined multiple governmental functions under one roof. They investigate alleged violations, write regulations carrying the force of law and adjudicate enforcement actions through administrative proceedings.

With Humphrey's Executor now overruled, those agencies remain intact, but their leadership is subject to presidential control if they exercise executive power. Gorsuch questioned whether Congress can continue delegating broad legislative and judicial authority to agencies that are now unmistakably under presidential supervision.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Elaine Mallon.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett faced the wrath of conservatives on social media on Monday after she authored the majority opinion ruling in favor of a Mississippi law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted in elections even if they are received after Election Day. 

The court was split 5-4 on the ruling with Barrett, appointed by President Donald Trump, writing the majority opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Barrett's opinion held that Election Day, in the context of federal law, set a deadline for when voters must make a choice regarding their preferred candidate but said that relevant laws have no standard for when ballots must be received to be considered valid. 

Barrett was quickly criticized by conservative commentators and politicians.

"A shockingly wrong opinion," Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt posted on X. "Justice Barrett joins with the liberal justices to hold that federal election law does not preempt states who allow late mail-in ballots to be counted. This is terrible for election integrity. Another reason we must pass the full SAVE American Act."

"Barrett is the biggest conservative judicial disaster since Souter," conservative author Hans Mahncke posted on X. "The difference is that few conservatives expected much from Souter whereas Barrett was supposed to be the future of the Court. The worst part is that she’ll be there pushing leftist policies for another 40 years."

"Amy Coney Barrett continues to disappoint in far too many high-profile cases," political commentator Josh Hammer posted on X. 

"Remember Election Day?" Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh’s office posted on X. "This disastrous SCOTUS decision, authored by Justice Barrett, guarantees we’ll keep drifting away from it — as our sacred elections get bogged down by endless mail-in ballots and never-ending counts."

"Amy Coney Barrett is the worst choice ever among all GOP justices," retired U.S. Army captain Seth Keshel posted on X. "And that includes Roberts. What a disappointment she is."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller.

Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley discussed potential Supreme Court rulings on birthright citizenship and transgender athletes that are expected to be handed down on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship has been the subject of attacks from critics for months. Meanwhile, the court is also expected to rule on state-level bans on transgender people playing in women's sports, as well as a campaign finance case.

In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court's major birthright citizenship case, President Donald Trump blasted the nation's highest court while predicting it may rule against his effort to restrict automatic citizenship for some children born in the U.S.

"This decision by the Supreme Court is a very big one. They'll probably rule against me because they seem to like doing that," said Trump in May. "You know, frankly, I'm not happy with some of the decisions."

Trump v. Barbara centers on Trump’s January 2025 executive order seeking to limit automatic citizenship for some children born in the U.S., a move that has triggered a major constitutional fight. The decision is expected on Tuesday, the final opinion day of the Supreme Court’s term, placing Trump’s prediction in the spotlight as the justices prepare to hand down one of the year’s most closely watched rulings.

Trump sat in on oral arguments in April as Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson questioned whether the president’s executive order complies with the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. The visit marked the first known time a sitting president attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court. 

Barrett warned at the time that investigating citizenship would create chaos, while Jackson asked, "Are we bringing pregnant women in for depositions?"

Trump predicted in May that the court would rule against him, noting he was "not happy" with recent rulings, pointing to the recent tariff decision he said will cost the U.S. $149 billion. This month, he warned the nation "cannot live with the shackles of Birthright Citizenship." 

"It is not economically, or otherwise, sustainable, and no other country in the World, of consequence, does it," Trump posted on Truth Social on June 11.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Ashley J. DiMella.