What to know about SCOTUS hearing on Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship
U.S. Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — For more than a century, an American birth certificate has been a key to unlocking the benefits of American citizenship.
Most parents of newborns on U.S. soil have simply needed proof of birth from a hospital to apply for social security numbers, passports and early life benefits for their children. Into adulthood, the birth certificate has been universally recognized as proof of citizenship for voter registration, employment, home loans and military service.
A landmark case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday will determine whether that longstanding cultural norm and legal precedent will continue, or whether sweeping bureaucratic changes that could impact millions will soon take effect.
President Donald Trump is asking the justices to uphold his Day 1 executive order eliminating birthright citizenship under a novel interpretation of the 14th Amendment and requiring parents to prove their own legal status before citizenship is granted to their children.
All lower courts that have considered the case struck the order down.
The amendment, which was ratified in 1868, says all “persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens. Congress later codified the same language in federal citizenship law in 1940.
“Look at the dates of this long ago legislation – THE EXACT END OF THE CIVIL WAR!” Trump posted on social media Monday. “It is about the BABIES OF SLAVES!”
Trump argues children born to parents who are not American citizens or legal permanent residents were never considered “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. because they still owe political “allegiance” to a foreign nation.
Courts and the government, however, have repeatedly interpreted the 14th Amendment to unambiguously confer citizenship on all children born on U.S. soil, including to babies of unauthorized noncitizens and temporary residents, such as international students, foreign nationals who are in the U.S. on tourist visas and seasonal workers.
“The [14th] Amendment, in clear words and in manifest intent, includes the children born, within the territory of the United States, of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States,” wrote Justice Horace Gray in an 1898 Supreme Court opinion addressing the status of children born to noncitizens.
Immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups insist Trump’s order is blatantly unconstitutional — contrary to the plain text of the Constitution and history of the citizenship clause — and would unleash “chaos” nationwide.
“The impacts on this country would be catastrophic,” said ACLU attorney Cody Wofsy, who is leading the case against the order.
“Most directly, the children who would be stripped of their citizenship would be … subject to arrest, detention and deportation from the only country they’ve ever known,” Wofsy said.
An estimated 255,000 children born every year on U.S. soil to noncitizen parents could lose legal status under Trump’s order, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Some may have difficulty establishing citizenship in any country, effectively being born as “stateless.”
“Babies [born to parents] from countries like Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, where there is not a clear pathway to citizenship in their home countries,” said Anisa Rahm, legal director of the South Asian American Justice Collaborative. “So therefore, where do they belong?”
While the administration insists the order will only apply to children born after it takes effect, legal scholars have warned that a ruling striking down birthright citizenship could have retroactive consequences.
“The citizenship of other Americans could be called into question,” said Winnie Kao, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, one of the groups that brought a class-action suit against the administration over the order.
“Vast swaths of U.S. law would need to be reexamined because they are premised on birthright citizenship,” added Kao. “It will also be a total administrative and bureaucratic nightmare for everyone — even for parents who are U.S. citizens.”
An ABC News review of Trump administration plans for implementing a new citizenship policy across federal agencies suggests a more involved and potentially complicated process for new parents than currently exists, if the executive order takes effect.
The Social Security Administration says birth certificates would no longer be sufficient documentation to obtain a new Social Security Number for a newborn.
“SSA will require evidence that such a person’s mother and/or father is a U.S. citizen or in an eligible immigration status at the time of the person’s birth,” the agency wrote in a July 2025 guidance memo.
Parents would first need to submit their own citizenship documentation by mail, phone or online, the agency said. Alternatively, parents could provide a “self-attestation” of citizenship subject to “state and federal penalties for perjury,” according to the memo.
The State Department says it would adopt similar verification measures for passport applicants.
For children born to lawful but temporary immigrants — who would no longer be eligible for citizenship — the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says parents would need to register to obtain the same temporary legal status for their kids.
Federally funded benefits for children, like nutrition assistance and health care services, provided by the Department of Health and Human Services would also require extensive documentation by all parents to prove their children were citizens at birth, the agency said in a memo.
During oral arguments last year in a predecessor case involving Trump’s birthright citizenship order, Justice Brett Kavanaugh — often a key vote in hotly contested cases — voiced concern about whether the government would be able to carry out citizenship checks for parents of the more than 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. each year.
“Federal officials will have to figure that out essentially,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer told the justice under questioning.
“How?” Kavanaugh responded skeptically.
“So, you can imagine a number of ways –” Sauer began.
“Such as?” Kavanaugh quipped. “For all the newborns? Is that how it’s going to work?”
Sauer replied at the time that the administration did not have all the details worked out because courts had blocked the executive order in full.
Polls show the nation is sharply divided over the issue of American citizenship for newborn children of unauthorized immigrants. Half of adults — 50% — say they should receive U.S. citizenship; 49% say they should not, according to an April 2025 Pew Research Center survey.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference in the National Response Coordination Center at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, January 24, 2026 in Washington. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, two sources told ABC News, as the administration faces fallout over federal agent operations in Minnesota and the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Noem’s top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House communications director Steven Cheung were also present, according to sources.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who had called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” without evidence, was not at the meeting, sources said.
Sources said the meeting lasted about two hours and came at the request of Noem. The White House declined to comment.
The New York Times was the first to report on the meeting.
Much of the scrutiny inside the administration has been directed toward Noem over her initial response to the killing of Pretti, sources said. After Pretti was killed Saturday, Noem — like Miller — was quick to call him a “domestic terrorist” without evidence.
Asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if the president agreed with that characterization, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt distanced the president from those comments.
“Look, as I’ve said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way,” Leavitt said during the White House press briefing on Monday. “However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself.”
While sources said Noem is expected to keep her job as of now, her focus is expected to shift to other priorities.
Trump, as he left the White House on Tuesday afternoon to travel to Iowa for an economic speech, told reporters that Noem would not be stepping down.
“I think she’s done a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said.
But sources described a rift between Noem and Trump’s border czar Tom Homan — a frosty relationship that existed prior to the shooting in Minneapolis.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Noem is “very happy” Homan will be overseeing the actions on Minneapolis.
“Secretary Noem will continue to oversee the Department of Homeland Security, and she is very happy that Tom Homan, who is a great asset to the president, has a great depth of experience and insight, will be overseeing Minneapolis,” she said during an interview on Fox News Tuesday morning.
Homan was also at the White House on Monday before heading to Minnesota at the direction of Trump — bypassing the normal chain of command where Noem and Customs and Border Protection commander-at-large Greg Bovino had been overseeing ICE operations. Bovino is now returning to El Centro, California, to resume his duties as chief of that sector, multiple sources told ABC News.
Trump said on Monday that Homan would report directly to him.
Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz met with Homan on Tuesday morning. The two spoke about a number of items, including a “significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” according to the governor’s office.
Trump said on Tuesday that Homan would also be meeting with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat.
“I hear that’s all going very well,” Trump said Tuesday.
The decision to send Homan into the state came as a relief to several Republicans on Capitol Hill who had personally reached out to the president and other White House officials directly about the response. Criticism has grown from congressional Republicans over the Pretti shooting and Minnesota ICE operation, with more than two dozen GOP lawmakers calling for a thorough investigation.
A person familiar with the planning said Homan will likely focus on more targeted immigration enforcement efforts.
Noem and her top adviser, Lewandowski, have pushed for a harder line immigration approach including street sweeps. Bovino rankled some who felt his direct reporting to the Homeland Security secretary was problematic, and bypassed Rodney Scott, the chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, sources said.
“The President’s entire immigration enforcement team — including Secretary Noem and Border Czar Homan — are on the same page. They are working together seamlessly to implement the President’s agenda, protect the American people, and deport criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a photo opportunity ahead of a meeting in the State Department Building, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A year ago, the stage seemed set for Vice President JD Vance to succeed President Donald Trump as the MAGA heir apparent in 2028.
Vance, just 40 years old at the time of the 2024 election, came into office with wave of support from Republicans and the backing of the president’s family.
And while the vice president remains well-positioned ahead of a likely 2028 campaign, questions are quietly emerging over Vance’s inevitability, especially as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s profile and responsibilities have grown throughout the first year of Trump’s second term, most recently around the war with Iran.
The long-term political implications of the war remain to be seen, but Rubio’s rise has caught the eye of not only some of Trump’s closest allies, but the president himself, who in private has been noting how “popular” and “loved” Rubio has become as part of his team, multiple sources told ABC News.
People around the president have noted the lavish praise Trump heaps on Rubio, privately but also in public, often starting standing ovations for him and declaring that Rubio will go down as “the greatest secretary of state in history.”
The president, however, has opted thus far not to formally endorse either Vance or Rubio as his preferred successor, instead saying he would like to see them run together on a joint ticket, without specifying who should be at the top.
Privately, the president has repeatedly tossed the question to allies and associates about who they would like to see at the top of the ticket, asking, “Marco or JD?,” as AXIOS first reported, including recently to a group of donors at his Mar-a-Lago resort in late February, sources said.
‘Draft Rubio’ movement rises
Amid Rubio’s rise, a group of Republican donors who support the secretary of state has also quietly begun discussing ways to further boost Rubio’s political future ahead of 2028, multiple sources told ABC News.
They described an emerging, behind-the-scenes effort to elevate him within the party and stand up a potential “draft Rubio” effort following the midterms. The discussions, according to those sources, are being driven by donors and surrogates who support Rubio, not the secretary of state himself, reflecting what some in Trump-aligned circles see as a growing enthusiasm for Rubio’s rising profile inside the administration.
However, in recent presidential elections, donor support has not always directly translated to political success.
“Donors don’t pick the nominee — the base picks,” a senior Republican operative told ABC News. “Donors tried to abandon President Trump and tried to pick [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis, and we all saw how that went.”
Asked about political donors being drawn to Rubio, White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to ABC News that Trump has assembled a strong team to work under him and that nothing will deter the administration in its work.
“The President has assembled an all-star team that has achieved unprecedented success in just over one year. No amount of crazed media speculation about Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio will deter this Administration’s mission of fighting for the American people,” Cheung said.
The vice president’s office declined to comment.
Over the course of the administration’s first year, Rubio has emerged as a leading voice of the Trump administration, taking on numerous senior roles including acting national security adviser and acting director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to the point where it has become a running joke around Washington about what position Rubio will take on next.
The State Department did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
By Trump’s side for Iran strikes
Rubio’s star has risen particularly since the Trump administration’s recent strikes on Iran, with the secretary emerging as a leading face communicating the operation alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. When President Trump gave his top military commanders the green light to launch a sweeping attack on Iran, Rubio wasn’t in Washington — he was already on his way to a makeshift situation room in Mar-a-Lago, where he would monitor the first hours of Operation Epic Fury by the president’s side.
Vance was in the Situation Room monitoring the strikes with Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. They were dialed into a conference line with President Trump and the rest of the national security team at Mar-a-Lago.
A spokesperson for Vance told ABC News that the vice president “remained in Washington to maintain operational secrecy and in keeping with the administration’s security protocol to limit the President and Vice President co-locating away from the White House.”
Through the early days of the conflict, Rubio has continued to play a highly visible supporting role, remaining by the president’s side at Mar-a-Lago during those early days — a position that has fueled speculation that his stock was on the rise.
But Rubio’s elevated profile amid the Iran strikes could cut both ways. While the secretary of state has taken more of a central role, if he did have future political ambitions, that could also tie him closer to the military operation. Early polling suggests the war is unpopular with most Americans, as just 29% approve of the strikes, while 43% disapprove and 26% remain unsure, according to an Ipsos poll.
The same Ipsos poll also shows that a majority of Americans believe that Trump has not explained the goals of the war, with 64% say Trump has not clearly explained the war’s objective.
Neither Vance nor Rubio has officially declared plans to run for president, and when asked by Vanity Fair last year, Rubio said he would support the vice president. “If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio said.
Vance keeping lower profile
Meanwhile, Vance, a Marine Corps veteran of the war in Iraq, had maintained a relatively low profile following the start of the war in Iran but is now ramping back up his official and political events, including speaking this afternoon in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where he spoke briefly about the Iran war in his remarks to voters.
Vance also has not been as active on his social media platforms, such as X, as he has been in the past.
In a statement to ABC News about Vance’s public communications during the early days of the strikes, a senior White House official said “the national security team was deliberate on letting the President’s statements and addresses to the nation stand as the operation unfolded.”
Vance was also slated to appear at a town hall with CBS News that was set to air on Saturday, but following the Iran strikes, the scheduled broadcast has been postponed, citing the war in Iran.
Vance is, however, still maintaining a robust fundraising schedule as finance chair of the Republican National Committee, with fundraisers scheduled in Dallas and Austin later this month, according to fundraiser flyers obtained by ABC News.
During a press conference on Monday, Trump said that he and Vance were “philosophically a little bit different” when it came to the U.S. war with Iran after ABC News previously reported that Vance internally expressed reservations about the strikes late last month. Once it became clear that the decision had been made to move forward, Vance shifted to work on supporting the military operation.
“I don’t think so. No, no, we get along very well on this. He was, I would say philosophically a little bit different than me. I think he was, maybe less enthusiastic about going, but he was quite enthusiastic. But, I felt it was something we had to do. I didn’t feel we had a choice. If we didn’t do it, they would have done it to us,” Trump said Monday evening in Florida.
Once it became clear that the decision had been made to move forward, Vance shifted to work on supporting the military operation.
Hegseth was asked during Friday’s Pentagon press briefing about the role Vance played in the military operation and reports that he differed from Trump on the Iran strikes. Hegseth praised the team Trump has pulled together and said that the team “provides options to the President and the Vice President every single day, and is a key voice in that.”
Vance said in an interview with Fox News on March 2 that he did not believe Trump would get the U.S. into a “multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective.”
The vice president’s press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, pushed back against reports of Vance’s view on the war in Iran.
“The Vice President has been the focus of constant leaks left and right by people trying to project their views onto him,” Van Kirk said. “And as a result, there have been countless inconsistent accounts of the Vice President’s views published, which shows the mainstream media has no idea what they’re talking about. The Vice President, a proud member of the President’s national security team, keeps his counsel to the President private.”
The ‘Tucker dilemma’ for Vance
Some close administration advisers around the president have expressed frustration over Vance’s close ties to voices who have emerged as critics speaking out against Iran, including popular commentator Tucker Carlson, sources said, and have grown close to Rubio, viewing him as a leading figure across multiple fronts.
Laura Loomer, the influential far-right activist who has the president’s ear, has emerged as one of Vance’s staunchest critics from within the MAGA base — routinely targeting the vice president over his connections to critical voices like Carlson, who along with others lobbied Trump to select him as vice president during the 2024 campaign.
Loomer, who spoke to the president recently about the war in Iran, has called on Vance to condemn Carlson following his criticism of Iran strikes and has been boosting the idea that Rubio’s profile is on the rise. “RUBIO RISING 🇺🇸 Get ready for 2028!,” Loomer posted on social media earlier in March.
“Months ago, I called it the ‘Tucker dilemma,’” Loomer told ABC News when reached for comment. “I said that JD Vance has a Tucker problem. And I do believe that one of the reasons why a lot of the GOP donors, as well as a lot of the GOP base, is souring on JD is that he has not explicitly condemned Tucker.”
“If he doesn’t disavow him, Marco’s going to be the nominee,” Loomer said.
Following the initial strikes on Iran, Carlson told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that the operation was “absolutely disgusting and evil,” comments that President Trump later responded to by saying the former Fox News anchor had “lost his way” and that he “knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.”
Carlson did not respond to a request for comment.
Headwinds for Rubio
While some GOP donors aligned with Rubio have begun quietly discussing a potential 2028 bid, if the the secretary of state were to run he would face real formidable obstacles running against the vice president, who has spent the past several years working to consolidate support within Trump’s Republican party.
Vance has secured the backing of some of the most influential figures in the Republican party, perhaps none more important that the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and Carlson, both of whom played pivotal roles in elevating him to the vice presidency during the 2024 campaign.
But Vance also has deep ties to some of the biggest GOP donors from the tech world, including billionaires Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. And Vance has already been endorsed by the late Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, one of the most powerful grassroots organizations on the right, which has already begun standing up staff and operations in the primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
As RNC finance chair, Vance has started courting major donors across the country, while also maintaining close ties to the Rockbridge Network, a donor and policy organization he helped found before entering politics that connects him to a broad group of wealthy conservative backers and operatives.
Rubio’s last presidential run in 2016 began with high expectations, including the backing of major GOP donors and party strategists, but it ultimately faltered. He finished third in the Iowa caucuses behind Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump before placing fifth in the New Hampshire primary and ultimately losing his home state of Florida to Trump, after which he suspended his campaign.
At the time, ABC News’ analysis of the primary noted that Rubio was part of the establishment Republican lane that collapsed as Trump “took over the Republican Party by sheer force of personality,” defeating a field that included establishment darlings like at the time rising figures such as Rubio.
Today, voters are negative about both men, according to an NBC poll conducted last week. About half of registered voters had a negative opinion of Vance (49%), while 38% were positive: a net negative of 11 points. For Rubio, 41% were negative and 34% were positive, a net negative 7 points. The remainders for each were either neutral, not sure or didn’t know their names.
Behind the scenes, the secretary’s close political allies have mirrored Rubio’s deference—denying that he has his sights set on the White House, while quietly emphasizing that they believe he would make a great president.
US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, DC, US, early on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Later this month, President Donald Trump is hosting an annual meeting with governors at the White House, but he will not invite any Democrats, only Republicans, breaking a long-standing tradition.
The meeting, part of the National Governors Association winter gathering, will only include Republican governors, a spokesperson for the organization confirmed to ABC News.
“The bipartisan White House governors meeting is an important tradition, and we are disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year. To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration,” Brandon Tatum, acting Executive Director and CEO of the National Governors Association, said in a statement to ABC News.
Trump is still planning to hold a separate, bipartisan dinner for governors and their spouses at the White House as part of the NGA activities. But Trump did not give invites to two Democrats: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
It’s unclear why Trump did not invite Polis and Moore to the dinner. Moore also serves as the vice chair of the NGA.
“This is a disappointing decision for a traditionally bipartisan event between Governors and whomever occupies the White House,” Ally Sullivan, a spokesperson for Polis, said to ABC News in a statement. A source close to Polis said the governor was not given a reason for not being invited.
Over the past few months, Trump has put pressure on Polis to release Tina Peters from prison following her receiving a presidential pardon. Peters was convicted on state charges for a scheme to tamper with voting systems driven by false claims about the 2020 election. Trump’s pardon power does not extend to state crimes.
Moore was also not informed why he was not invited to the annual dinner and blasted Trump in a statement released on Sunday, appearing to suggest his race was a factor.
“My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the Vice Chair of the NGA, another reason why it’s hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership,” Moore said.
“As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not,” he continued.
ABC News has requested comment from the White House regarding Moore’s remarks.
Moore said to CNN on Sunday that he has received a commitment from the bipartisan National Governors Association that it will not recognize the dinner as an official NGA event.
In a statement to ABC News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s decision to exclude Democratic governors from the annual NGA meeting at the White House, adding that Trump did invite them to the dinner.
“These are White House events and the President can invite whomever he wants. With that being said, the White House has been coordinating meetings with the President, cabinet secretaries, and Democrat governors for more than a week,” Leavitt said in her statement. “Democrats were invited to the dinner at the White House. This is a non-story.”
Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, in an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Monday, slammed Trump’s decision to only invite Republicans to the annual meeting with governors at the White House and exclude Moore and Polis from the bipartisan dinner. Beshear also said he would not be attending the bipartisan dinner.
“No, I ain’t going,” Beshear said. “Wes is a friend of mine. Even if he wasn’t a friend of mine, this would be wrong — and Jared as well — but the other thing that’s going on is they didn’t invite any Democratic governor to the business section.”
