House Speaker Mike Johnson says he’s working on a “legislative fix” to counter a Supreme Court ruling that upheld birthright citizenship, rejecting President Donald Trump’s argument. Johnson praised Justice Clarence Thomas’s dissent and signaled Congress could
For House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision didn’t settle the fight—it sharpened it.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream. Johnson said he is working on what he called a “legislative fix” after the court upheld birthright citizenship. a ruling that rejected President Donald Trump’s argument against it and angered many Republicans. Johnson framed it as urgent, saying, “We do need to address [the ruling]. We’re looking at all angles. If there’s some legislative fix. we’ll advance that immediately; if it’s a constitutional amendment. as you know. it takes a little more time. But we’ve got to address this — it really is a serious, serious issue.”.
The push comes right after Johnson said he “really enjoyed” Justice Clarence Thomas’s dissenting opinion in the case decided last month. Johnson told Bream that Thomas explained how the Fourteenth Amendment’s original intent was to enhance and value citizenship—something Johnson said he believes has been “devalued because of birthright tourism.” He added that he sees the issue as “a threat to the rule of law and national security.”.
Thomas’s dissent argued that the court made what he called a terrible error by extending citizenship to “children of foreign temporary visitors and illegal aliens.” He said that approach goes against the spirit of the Fourteenth Amendment—an argument Trump has also made.
Trump has said the Fourteenth Amendment was clearly designed to grant citizenship to freed Black slaves. The president has also argued that the 14th Amendment has turned into a “great scam,” abused by foreigners who come to the USA to have kids.
In his dissent. Thomas wrote that the majority opinion added to what he described as the “sad history” of the Fourteenth Amendment—one that. in his view. was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been “repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.”.
The majority saw it differently. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s left-leaning justices on the outcome. In the majority opinion. Roberts wrote: “Citizenship. then and now. was the right to have rights— to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land. ’” and “We keep that promise today.”.
Johnson’s Sunday answer landed shortly after Trump called for Congress to find a way to change birthright citizenship “ASAP” following the ruling. In Johnson’s telling. the next step is Congress. and whether it moves fast enough may depend on how lawmakers choose to act—through a legislative fix first. or later through a constitutional amendment that would take more time.
The Supreme Court decision may have already resolved the legal question before it. But on Capitol Hill. the fight over what birthright citizenship is—and what Republicans believe it should be—has not ended. Johnson’s “serious. serious issue” signals the next chapter is headed back to Congress. where the argument will shift from constitutional interpretation in court to drafting. voting. and the political risks of trying to rewrite a promise the majority says must stand.
Mike Johnson birthright citizenship Supreme Court Clarence Thomas Fourteenth Amendment Donald Trump Congress legislative fix constitutional amendment