The Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, ruling that the 14th Amendment requires the practice to continue, at least for now. The decision was a setback for the administration, which had argued that birthright citizenship was never intended to cover the children of foreign nationals visiting or living in the country illegally.
Trump attended the hearing in person, making him the first sitting U.S. president to do so. Despite the loss, he wasted little time before mapping out his next move.
Taking to his Truth Social platform shortly after the ruling, Trump argued that while the executive order route had been shut down, Congress still has the power to act. According to a report, Trump made clear he sees legislation as a viable path forward, one that would not require a constitutional amendment.
“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.
He pushed further, urging lawmakers to move immediately. “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!”
Trump also used a separate post to take a sharp shot at the ruling’s broader implications, sarcastically congratulating China over what he framed as a win for Chinese birth tourism. “I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!” he wrote.
But Trump made clear he viewed a different ruling from the same session as far more significant. He pointed to the so-called Slaughter case, which he said overturned the long-standing Humphrey’s Executor rule and dramatically expanded presidential authority to remove federal bureaucrats.
“This whole concept of ‘Power’ has been fought over for nearly 100 years, going all the way back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, where a large slice of his Power was taken away,” Trump wrote, adding that the decision returns authority to the presidency “where it belongs.”
He called the Slaughter ruling the “biggest and most consequential Decision issued by the Court, by far,” framing it as a historic victory that presidents had been fighting to achieve for nearly a century.
Wrapping up his series of posts, Trump acknowledged both the wins and the loss. “It is an Honor to be the sitting President who, after all these years, WON this very important, and hard fought, Case,” he wrote, while reiterating his commitment to pursuing birthright citizenship reform through the legislative process.
The ball, it seems, is now in Congress’s court.