March 31, 2026 / 11:12 PM EDT / CBS News
President Trump is scheduled to be at the Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices hear Trump v. Barbara, the case that challenges his executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. The White House calendar lists him as attending oral arguments at 10 a.m.; if he appears, he would be the first sitting president on record to watch arguments in person at the high court.
Mr. Trump signaled to reporters that he planned to attend. He has previously suggested observing arguments — including during the court’s review of his global tariffs — but did not follow through then, saying he did not want to “distract” the court.
A personal appearance would highlight how central the issue is to his agenda. Within hours of resuming the presidency last year, Mr. Trump signed an executive order intended to prevent children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants or people in the country temporarily from automatically receiving U.S. citizenship. The order has been blocked from taking effect by multiple legal challenges.
Critics argue the order violates the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” That provision has long been read to confer citizenship to almost everyone born on U.S. soil, with only narrow exceptions regardless of parents’ immigration status. Administration lawyers counter that the post–Civil War amendment has been misconstrued and contend it was meant to apply to former slaves and their descendants, not to children of temporary or undocumented immigrants.
The Supreme Court dealt with related litigation last year, but that decision addressed whether lower-court injunctions blocking the policy were too broad rather than ruling on the policy’s constitutionality. The justices will now consider the core constitutional question directly; a decision could come as soon as July.
The court’s current lineup is a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices nominated by Mr. Trump, though the court has at times ruled against the administration. Last month, the justices struck down many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs, drawing sharp criticism from the president. On his social platform, he predicted the court “will find a way to come to the wrong conclusion” in the birthright citizenship case as well.