In A First For US President, Trump Attends Supreme Court Hearing On Birthright Citizenship

In a historic first for a sitting US President, Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) attended the Supreme Court hearing over the legality of his executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship – a key pillar of his hardline immigration agenda introduced on his first day back in office.

Dressed in a dark suit and red tie, Trump arrived at the courthouse via motorcade from the White House and took a seat in the front row of the public gallery. He stayed for a little over an hour, leaving shortly after the government’s lawyer concluded arguments and before the challengers finished presenting their case, news agency Reuters reported.

As per the news agency, Trump and other attendees rose to their feet as the court marshal made the customary

announcement beginning with “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” – meaning “Hear ye!” – to mark the beginning of the court session. Despite the historic nature of the visit, Chief Justice John Roberts did not acknowledge the president’s presence.

“We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social after arriving back at the White House.

Court Signals Skepticism

During the more than two-hour hearing, several justices appeared skeptical of the administration’s directive, which seeks to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States if their parents are neither citizens nor permanent residents.

The case, Trump vs Barbara, follows a lower court ruling that blocked the policy. The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its verdict by the end of June.

The United States is among 33 countries with automatic birthright citizenship policies, according to the Pew Research Center.

Protests Outside the Court

Outside the courthouse on Capitol Hill, demonstrators gathered ahead of the hearing, some holding anti-Trump placards reading “Trump must go now.” Security was visibly heightened both inside and outside the building.

Tensions With The Court

Trump’s appearance comes amid strained relations with the judiciary. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has backed Trump in a series of rulings issued on an emergency basis since he returned to the presidency last year. Those decisions came on matters including immigration, mass federal layoffs, cutting foreign aid, dismantling the Education Department, banning transgender people from the military and other areas.

However, it ruled against him in February over sweeping global tariffs. Trump has since publicly criticized certain justices, including some he appointed during his first term.

Three of the court’s six conservative justices – Chief Justice John Roberts as well as Gorsuch and Barrett – joined with the court’s three liberal members in ruling that Trump had overstepped his authority in imposing tariffs.

Trump was incensed at Gorsuch and Barrett in particular, calling them on the day of that ruling “an embarrassment to their families.” And last week, Trump kept up his condemnation of his two appointees, saying that “they sicken me because they’re bad for our country.”

Trump, after the tariffs ruling, said he was “ashamed” of the three conservative justices who ruled against him, calling them “fools and lapdogs for the RINOs and the radical-left Democrats.” RINO, meaning “Republican in name only,” is a term sometimes used by conservative Republicans to insult fellow Republicans viewed as disloyal to the party.

Notably, three members of the court’s conservative majority — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — were nominated by Trump.

A Rare Presidential Moment

Trump is the first sitting president to attend an oral argument at the Supreme Court, according to Clare Cushman, the resident historian at the Supreme Court Historical Society. There are examples of 19th century presidents arguing cases before the court – though not while in office – including John Quincy Adams, Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. William Howard Taft, who served as president from 1909 to 1913, later became the chief justice on the Supreme Court.