WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is set to attend the Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship on Wednesday, marking the first time a sitting president will be present for oral arguments at the nation’s highest court.
The president’s official schedule, released by the White House, includes a visit to the Supreme Court, where justices will hear Trump’s appeal of a lower court decision that invalidated his executive order restricting birthright citizenship.
Trump’s order, signed on the first day of his second term, asserts that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not US citizens. This departs from the longstanding interpretation that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment and federal law since 1940 grant citizenship to all individuals born on American soil, with few exceptions.
This is not the first instance of Trump considering attending a Supreme Court hearing. Last year, Trump expressed a strong desire to attend a hearing on his tariffs, but ultimately decided against it, citing potential distractions.
On Tuesday, Trump confirmed his plans to attend the birthright citizenship hearing during a discussion with reporters in the Oval Office.
“I’m going,” Trump stated when asked about the upcoming arguments. When pressed further on attending in person, Trump responded, “I think so, I do believe.”
In his first term, Trump attended the swearing-in ceremonies of two justices he nominated, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. However, he did not attend the ceremony for his third appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, as it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While previous presidents have interacted with the court, Trump’s decision to attend as a sitting president is unprecedented. Richard Nixon argued a case between his time as vice president and president, and William Howard Taft served as chief justice after his presidency.
When asked about which justices he pays the most attention to, Trump criticized the perceived partisanship of the court, distinguishing between justices appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents.
“I love a few of them,” he remarked, “I don’t like some others.”
The citizenship restrictions are part of Trump’s broader immigration policy, but have not been implemented due to court injunctions. A final ruling from the Supreme Court is expected in early summer.
This article was originally published on March 31, 2026, and updated on April 1, 2026, to clarify that President Donald Trump also attended Brett Kavanaugh’s swearing-in ceremony, in addition to Neil Gorsuch’s ceremony.
