SCOTUS birthright citizenship ruling drives Senate reaction from both sides

Five Democratic senators issued statements praising the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Barbara, which struck down President Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., called it a defense of the Constitution. "It has always been clear: a child born in the United States is an American citizen," Rosen said. "Today's decision also makes clear that Donald Trump is not above the law, and he cannot unilaterally take away anyone's constitutional rights."

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary's Immigration Subcommittee, framed the ruling as personal. "I am a proud son of immigrants. I was born in the United States. I am a proud citizen of the United States with freedom to pursue the American Dream," Padilla said. He added: "While we celebrate this ruling today, we cannot rest. Because this is certainly not the end of Trump's attacks on our Constitution, our democracy, and the notion of what it means to be American."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., called the ruling "a sound rejection of this administration's lawless overreach" and said it "should serve as a reminder that our system of checks and balances still holds." Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said: "There is no question — birthright citizenship has been and will continue to be a part of our Constitution. It's past time for the attacks on our nation's core ideals to end." Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said: "No xenophobic Executive Order can undo that."

The ruling split Republican senators. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, announced he will introduce a constitutional amendment to limit birthright citizenship. "Under the Supreme Court's erroneous interpretation, American citizenship is extended to anyone who happens to be on U.S. soil when they're born — even if they were here in violation of our laws," Schmitt said. His proposed amendment would restrict birthright citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., broke with the administration's position but said he would accept the court's verdict. "This same court, four years ago, passed the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which I strongly supported, but today I do not agree with the 5-4 split decision to give American citizenship to individuals whose families intentionally violated the law," Lankford said. He called citizenship "the greatest gift on Earth" outside of salvation and called for Congress to act legislatively.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, issued a statement on the ruling but the body text in the supplied release contained no quotable language beyond a title reference.

Two Republican senators issued statements after the Supreme Court upheld state laws barring transgender athletes from women's sports competitions — one in Idaho, one in West Virginia.

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said the ruling vindicated his years of advocacy. "Idaho was the first state in the nation to ban biological men from competing in women's sports and uphold the opportunities Title IX promised more than 50 years ago," Risch said. "The Supreme Court's decision affirms those protections and the generations of women who fought for fair, equal athletics."

Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., who signed West Virginia's Save Women's Sports Act into law as governor in 2021, tied the ruling directly to his time in the statehouse. "As a coach, I know our girls work too hard and sacrifice too much to have the deck stacked against them. Today is a BIG win for female athletes all across this country," Justice said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., published a column in The Contrarian arguing against the Senate confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose nomination hearing before the Judiciary Committee is set for July 15.

"The MAGA Department of Justice is a disgrace. More than 10,000 lawyers have fled or been forced out, often after being asked to carry out illegal or unethical orders. Todd Blanche is at the center of the rot," Whitehouse wrote. He warned that Republican senators who vote to confirm Blanche "are deluding themselves if they believe he will do anything but accelerate the weaponization of the justice system."

The release cited a range of outstanding oversight requests from Whitehouse — including FOIA filings related to Ghislaine Maxwell's prison transfer, the now-closed investigation of Tom Homan, and DOJ's White House contacts policy — that he said have gone unanswered.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., announced Tuesday that the Office of Management and Budget released long-delayed application materials for the Bank Enterprise Award and Small Dollar Loan programs — funding streams that support rural and underserved lenders — following a letter she led to OMB Director Russell Vought in early June.

"I appreciate OMB getting this data out and I encourage CDFI community lenders to act as quickly as possible to apply," Hyde-Smith said. "I remain concerned that delays since April might put these lenders behind the eight ball in terms of securing the backing that they rely on to support small businesses and rural communities in Mississippi."

The NOFAs indicate a month-long application window. The June letter, signed by ten senators including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, warned that failure to release the materials risked "preventable harm to the communities that the BEA and SDL were established by Congress to serve."

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., led a letter Tuesday to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asking USDA to purchase surplus U.S. farm-raised catfish through the Section 32 emergency commodities program. Senators Katie Britt, R-Ala., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., signed on.

"The industry has been caught in a severe inflationary squeeze, particularly from 2023 to the present, fundamentally altering its production economics," the senators wrote. "This pressure has consistently driven the cost of producing U.S. farm-raised catfish above the prices farmers receive for their fish, leading to three continuous years of negative financial returns."

The letter cites nearly $2 billion in economic output and more than 9,100 direct and indirect jobs tied to the industry.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., announced Tuesday he is joining the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force, led by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., which aims to identify vulnerabilities in federal programs and strengthen government accountability.

"Kansans work hard for every dollar they earn, and they deserve a government that doesn't let their tax dollars get stolen out from under them," Marshall said. "I'm excited to be joining the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force to track this fraud down, recover every dollar we can, and put the people responsible behind bars where they belong."

The task force now includes Sens. Schmitt, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Ashley Moody, R-Fla., Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Marshall.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called on Postmaster General David Steiner to resign unless he commits to forgo bonuses until mail delivery in Missouri improves. The statement follows a letter from Steiner that Hawley said attempted "to shift blame and evade accountability" after Hawley grilled Steiner at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last week over the dumping of a large pile of mail in St. Louis.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., sent a letter to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh urging the Fed to begin rulemaking under the 1987 Expedited Funds Availability Act to shorten the time banks can hold customer funds.

"The Federal Reserve has a clear mandate from Congress to fix this problem. The 1987 Expedited Funds Availability Act said that the Fed (and later the CFPB) 'shall, by regulation, reduce the time periods…to as short a time as possible and equal to the period of time achievable under the improved check clearing system…'" Fetterman wrote. "The Fed's regulations have not kept pace with the astonishing innovation in payment technology in recent decades."

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., appeared on CNN to discuss several intersecting issues: President Trump's continued refusal to sign the ROAD to Housing Act, the Supreme Court's ruling on mail-in voting, and what Schiff called the need for Supreme Court reform including term limits.

"When he says that he likes inflation, when he says that the affordability problem, that people can't afford their lives, is a hoax, and when he says that trying to bring down the cost of housing is unimportant — he is telling us who he is, and we should believe him," Schiff said of the president's stance on housing.

On Supreme Court term limits, Schiff said: "The most consequential reform, in my view, would be to put term limits on the Supreme Court, which can be done constitutionally as long as you provide that after a suitable period — say 18 years — a justice would rotate back onto the Court of Appeals or the District Court."

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., spoke with NDTV at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, where he received a public service award, and delivered a bullish assessment of India's economic trajectory.

"If countries were a stock, I'd be buying India right now," Daines told the outlet. "Of the top 20 countries in the world ranked by GDP, India has the largest growth rate in its GDP, not only for this year but also projected for next year."

Daines also praised the Trump administration's engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and credited the White House — including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — with helping stabilize global energy markets following Middle East tensions.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, introduced the Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act, which would provide federal grants to states to recruit, train, and retain home health aides, certified nursing assistants, and personal health assistants.

"Direct care workers provide a vital support system for seniors and people with disabilities. But too often, these workers are underpaid and overworked — resulting in a growing labor shortage in the field and increasing pressure on family caregivers," Gillibrand said. "This legislation will help give caregivers the training and resources that they deserve, helping guarantee that our loved ones get the care that they need to live and age with dignity."

Signals

• volume27 releases today runs 70.1% below the Tuesday baseline of 90.2 — consistent with the Independence Day state work period recess.
• recessSenate is in the Independence Day state work period; no floor votes are scheduled.
• coordinatedEight senators across both parties issued statements on Trump v. Barbara within a roughly two-hour window (14:42–16:57 ET), making it the day's dominant coordinated reaction event.
• silent breaksSen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has been quiet for 57 days; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, for 21 days; Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, for 27 days — all silent through a major SCOTUS day.
• voteTodd Blanche's AG confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for July 15, per the Whitehouse release.
• coordinatedTwo Republican senators — Risch (Idaho) and Justice (W.Va.) — issued parallel statements praising SCOTUS rulings upholding their respective state women's sports laws within roughly 80 minutes of each other.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC57d
• Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY27d
• Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY21d