SCOTUS Skeptical of Birthright Order — Roberts: "It's the Same Constitution." Trump Left Halfway Through.
At oral arguments, both liberal and conservative justices challenged Trump's birthright citizenship order. Roberts: "It's the same Constitution." Jackson: "Are we bringing pregnant women in for depositions?" Trump attended — the first president ever — but left halfway through.
On April 1, 2026, Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship reached the Supreme Court for oral arguments — 15 months after every lower court unanimously blocked it.
The arguments did not go well for the administration:
- Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued "we're in a new world" since the 14th Amendment was ratified
- Chief Justice John Roberts shot back: "It's the same Constitution."
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson: "So, are we bringing pregnant women in for depositions?"
- Conservative justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch — both Trump appointees — also questioned the administration's central arguments
- A majority appeared ready to rule against the administration
Trump became the first sitting president in history to attend Supreme Court oral arguments. He left halfway through — reportedly after the skeptical questioning made the likely outcome clear.
The case will be decided by June 2026. The order to strip citizenship from babies born on American soil — in defiance of the 14th Amendment's plain text and 130 years of settled law — appears headed for defeat at the hands of a Court that includes three of Trump's own appointees.
The Constitution says what it says. Roberts said it plainly: it's the same Constitution. A president cannot amend it by executive order — no matter how many times he tries.