Supreme Court rules on Trump’s birthright citizenship order, transgender athletes and campaign finance limits

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s contentious attempt to limit citizenship at birth for those born on U.S. soil, delivering a major blow to his agenda.

The court, divided 6-3, ruled that the executive order Trump issued Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, was unlawful. Five justices said the order fell foul of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted to bestow birthright citizenship on almost anyone born in the United States.

One justice, conservative Brett Kavanaugh, said the order violated federal law but not the Constitution.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote there was “scant evidence” in favor of the Trump administration’s radical reimagining of the way the law has been understood for decades.

“Citizenship then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community,” he wrote.

The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War to ensure that everyone, including former slaves, would have those rights, he added. “We keep that promise today,” Roberts said.

Three conservatives would have ruled in Trump’s favor, saying that the 14th Amendment would allow his executive order: Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch.

The 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

Under Trump’s proposal, birthright citizenship would have been limited to those with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Babies born to temporary visitors or people who entered the country illegally would not be citizens at birth.

“The court’s decision reaffirms a fundamental American promise — if you are born here, you are a citizen. A president cannot change the Constitution by executive fiat,” Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union, who represents plaintiffs who challenged the executive order, said in a statement.

For more than a century, the 14th Amendment has been assumed to apply to everyone born in the U.S. with a few specific exceptions, such as the children of diplomats.

The high court, in a ruling that combined two cases, upheld state laws that ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. Two student athletes in West Virginia and Idaho sued to overturn the bans.

The justices also struck down longtime campaign finance rules challenged by Vice President JD Vance that place limits on how much a national political party committee can spend in coordination with individual candidates. (Source: NBC News)