BEFORE TRUMP delivers his address to the nation on Iran tonight, he plans to attend this morning's arguments over birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court, making him the first president to ever do so.
Trump's attendance at the arguments, scheduled for 10 a.m., was included on his public schedule and he had earlier told reporters in the Oval Office that he intended to go.
"I'm going," Trump said. "Because I have listened to this argument for so long."
The president previously considered attending arguments last year over the constitutionality of his wide-ranging tariffs that he sought to enact, but he ultimately decided against it, saying it would be a distraction.
Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship to citizens and legal permanent residents was one of the first actions he took upon returning to office last year.
The implications of the case could be historic as Trump challenges a long-standing U.S. principle that has been understood for more than a century to mean almost anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen.
Birthright citizenship was first enshrined in the Constitution in the aftermath of the Civil War through the 14th Amendment, which states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
The phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" is key to the president's argument, The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee report.
The provision has generally been interpreted to only exclude the children of foreign diplomats, foreign enemies in hostile occupation or Native American children subject to tribal laws, but the administration will argue it should also exclude the children of those who entered the country illegally.
The American Civil Liberties Union will argue Trump's order is unconstitutional and that the administration's argument would essentially rewrite the 14th Amendment.
While the court's ruling could have wide-ranging legal and practical effects, the justices could also get around ruling on the order's constitutionality by ruling it violates a law from 1940, Schonfeld notes.
That law defines U.S. citizenship and uses nearly identical language as the amendment. The challengers to the order argue it violates the law even if it doesn't violate the Constitution.
Regardless, this will be one of the most high-profile cases of the court's current term and Trump's second term.
▪ The New York Times: How birthright citizenship shaped the justices' histories.
▪ The Associated Press: How the world sees birthright citizenship.
BALLROOM BLOCKED: A federal judge has blocked construction of Trump's planned ballroom at the White House just days before it was set to receive a final vote signing off on it.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, ruled Tuesday that no statute "comes close" to granting Trump the authority he has claimed for the project. Leon ruled the administration could not go forward without authorization from Congress.
The Trump administration has appealed Leon's ruling.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to bring the project to a halt until the White House obtains congressional approval and follows other federal regulations.
Leon said the Constitution establishes Congress as the authority over federal property, spending and the District of Columbia. Without "inherent constitutional authority," the administration must point to a law granting itself the ability to build the ballroom, but there is no such law, he ruled.
The ruling comes ahead of a planned vote Thursday in which the National Capital Planning Commission is set to potentially give final approval on the ballroom project. The vote had been scheduled weeks earlier but was delayed amid significant criticism of the project from members of the public.
The decision also came as Trump presented revised plans for the ballroom following a New York Times report about architects and preservationists critiquing the original design.
▪ The Hill: Trump vows to fix 'filthy' reflecting pool after ruling.
CONVERSION THERAPY BAN RULING: A stricter standard will be required to evaluate the constitutionality of Colorado's ban on conversion therapy after the Supreme Court ruled against the law Tuesday.
The court, in an 8-1 ruling, decided in favor of a Christian counselor who challenged Colorado's law banning counselors from attempting to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity. The ruling doesn't strike the law down but sends the case back to lower courts to consider a tougher standard for it.
Justice Neil Gorsuch said in his majority opinion that lower courts used too lenient a standard in upholding the law, finding it regulates counselors' speech in an attempt to censor a certain viewpoint.
Two of the court's liberals who sided with the majority, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, suggested laws that are more narrowly tailored could prevail. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented alone, arguing the ruling opens a "dangerous can of worms."
▪ The Hill: Judge allows subpoena collecting information on Jewish students, faculty.
▪ The Hill: Jan. 6 rioters accuse police of excessive force.
JOURNALIST KIDNAPPED: Rescue efforts are underway after an American journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq.
Shelly Kittleson was identified as the abductee by an American point of contact and her former employer, the Middle East news site AL-Monitor. A U.S. official told the outlet that the State Department is aware of her kidnapping and is working with the Iraqi government to secure her release.
Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of State for global public affairs, said in a post on the social platform X that Iraqi authorities have taken into custody an individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia Kataib Hezbollah, which is believed to be involved in the kidnapping.
"Iraq remains at a Level 4 Travel Advisory and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now," Johnson said.
Alex Plitsas, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and a former Pentagon official, told The Hill in a text that Kittleson has worked in Iraq for years and also worked in Syria.
"She's the sweetest person in the world and she doesn't have a mean bone in her body," Plitsas said.
THE KING'S VISIT: King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit the U.S. later this month to celebrate the relationship between the U.S. and the United Kingdom as the country celebrates its 250th birthday this year.
Trump confirmed the visit will take place from April 27 to 30, with a banquet at the White House taking place on April 28. The trip will be Charles's first state visit to the U.S. as king.
He had visited the U.S. 19 times before being crowned king in 2023. His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits to the U.S. during her rule.
"Their Majesties' programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
▪ Reuters: Visit comes as U.K. seeks to mollify Trump.
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