US Supreme Court weighs judicial checks on Trump with birthright case

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court was hearing a case on Thursday that could sharply curb the judiciary´s ability to rein in Donald Trump and future American presidents.

The case before the top court involves the Republican leader´s bid to end automatic citizenship for children born on American soil. But the immediate question at hand is whether a single federal judge can block a president´s policies with an injunction that applies nationwide.

Trump´s executive order to end birthright citizenship has been paused by district courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state who deemed it unconstitutional. Other Trump initiatives have also been frozen by judges around the nation -- both Democratic and Republican appointees -- leading the Justice Department to make an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, where conservatives make up a 6-3 majority.

Arguing before the court for the Trump administration, Solicitor General John Sauer said universal injunctions hamstring the president and “disrupt the Constitution´s careful balancing of the separation of powers.”

“They operate asymmetrically, forcing the government to win everywhere, while the plaintiffs can win anywhere,” Sauer said, and “create the ongoing risk of conflicting judgments.” Trump, in a post on Truth Social, personally railed against “unlawful” nationwide injunctions by “Radical Left Judges,” saying they could “lead to the destruction of our Country!”

“These judges want to assume the Powers of the Presidency, without having to attain 80 million votes,” he said, in reference to his 2024 election victory. Past presidents also complained about national injunctions shackling their agenda, but such orders have sharply risen under Trump.