Torching the constitutional separation of powers, President Donald Trump showed up at the Supreme Court for arguments over one of his major policy goals: eradicating birthright citizenship.
Needless to say, he couldn’t be arsed to stay for the whole thing.
Come on, a full two hours without being in front of a camera? Without being able to talk? He was never gonna make it.
He stuck around only for the government’s argument, made by one of his many former criminal defense attorneys, Solicitor General John Sauer, a man who speaks with the soothing cadence of a Muppet with a crushed larynx:
If Trump had any idea what was going on, he probably would have noticed that things weren’t going well for Sauer. He couldn’t answer Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s question about exactly how and when citizenship status would otherwise be determined: “Are you suggesting that when a baby is born, people have to have documents, present documents? Is this happening in the delivery room? How are we determining when or whether a newborn child is a citizen of the United States under your rule?”
Sauer flailed on about how Social Security numbers are generated, leading Jackson to have to say, essentially, No, dummy, the question is how someone proves their citizenship or intent to stay in the United States? What happens if a baby is mistakenly determined not to be a citizen?
Per Sauer, no problem! They can just sue after their baby is denied citizenship!
One wonders if Sauer was unprepared or if he’s always been a bad lawyer. For instance, everyone knew that conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, who prides himself on being a supporter of tribal rights, would have a question about the citizenship status of Native Americans in Trump’s brave new world.
“Do you think Native Americans today are birthright citizens under your test?” Gorsuch asked.
“I think so,” Sauer replied, hesitating. Later, he added, “I’d have to think that through.”
Repeatedly, in his arguments, Sauer invoked the idea of “domicile.” In his mind, we shouldn’t look at the simple language of the 14th Amendment. Instead, we should base citizenship on the idea of where someone is domiciled, a word that does not appear in the amendment at all.
But when Justice Jackson asked, “Who is domiciled? I’m struggling to figure out who is domiciled,” Sauer could muster only, “Domiciliaries are people who are lawfully present and have an intent to remain permanently.”
Sauer also flailed when conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked, “What if you don't know who the parents are?” Falling back on his fave word, he went with: “Domicile is a constitutional standard in all kinds of other situations.”
Predicting Supreme Court outcomes based on oral arguments alone is a fool’s errand, but the arguments didn’t look good for Sauer or Trump. Gorsuch didn’t seem pleased with the flailing around about the citizenship status of Native Americans, and Barrett didn’t seem satisfied with Sauer’s insistence that just yelling “domicile” answers everything. Chief Justice John Roberts called Sauer’s arguments “quirky”—and not in a good way.
Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, left, and Clarence Thomas, shown in 2025.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of the most Trump-friendly justices, even lightly mocked Sauer for arguing that since other countries don’t have birthright citizenship, we shouldn’t either.
“Why should we be … thinking about ‘Gee, European countries don’t have this, or most other countries, many other countries in the world don’t have this,’” Kavanaugh said. “I guess I’m not seeing the relevance as a legal constitutional interpretive matter necessarily, although I understand it’s a very good point as a policy matter.”
Ouch.
Far-right Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito might back Trump’s goal here, but the math outside of them looks grim—which means it looks good for America.
Sensing the direction this is blowing, Trump is already posting through it, writing on social media, “We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Actually, there are 32 other countries, but who is counting, right?
Now we all just have to wait and see how unhinged Trump will get before the court issues a decision. Maybe Sauer can enjoy a lozenge or a cup of hot tea to soothe that raggedy-ass voice of his.
