NATIONAL NEWS

The Latest: Supreme Court is set to rule on Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship

Jun 30, 2026, 5:08 AM

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Monday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)Credit...

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Monday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Credit: AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib

(AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will rule on the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s order on are not American citizens.

The decision comes on the final day of a Supreme Court term that has centered on Trump’s expansive claims of presidential power — and largely ruled in his favor.

The court on Monday handed Trump a major win by upholding his firings of independent federal agency heads at will, with the exception of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who will retain her job while she fights the president’s effort to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud.

Here’s the latest:

Monday’s ruling on federal agencies dramatically expanded presidential power

Other than at the Federal Reserve, with its role of setting interest rates, the court held that presidents have free rein to fire agency heads at will, despite federal laws that require a cause for such dismissals and a 91-year-old decision that had limited executive authority.

The justices allowed Fed governor Lisa Cook to stay in her job while she fights Trump’s effort to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied.

With the six conservative justices in the majority, the nine-member court jettisoned its unanimous decision in Humphrey’s Executor that had limited when presidents can fire agencies’ board members — in part to try to ensure decision-making free of political influence.

“We hold that such protection from removal is contrary to the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.

The court will also rule on trans athletes and campaign finances

In separate cases, the court will also decide:

Whether states can prohibit transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s public school and college teams.

Whether to uphold a federal law more than 50 years old limiting how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and the president.

The court seemed poised to reject Trump’s birthright citizenship limits during arguments in April

Oral arguments for the case lasted more than two hours in a crowded courtroom that included Trump, the first sitting president to attend arguments at the nation’s highest court, and, in seats reserved for the justices’ guests, actor Robert De Niro.

Trump heard his administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, Solicitor General D. John Sauer, face one skeptical question after another. Justices asked about the legal basis for the order and voiced more practical concerns.

“Is this happening in the delivery room?” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked, drilling down into the logistics of how the government would actually figure out who is entitled to citizenship and who is not.

Chief Justice John Roberts suggested that Sauer was relying on quirky exceptions to citizenship to make a broad argument about people who are in the country illegally. “I’m not quite sure how you can get to that big group from such tiny and sort of idiosyncratic examples,” Roberts said.

Justice Clarence Thomas sounded the most likely among the nine justices to side with Trump.

National News

FILE - Hiring sign for sales professionals is displayed at a store, in Vernon Hills, Ill., Wednesda...

Associated Press

Unemployment claims tick up to 206,000 but remain at historically low levels

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs are still rare and jobless claims remain at historically low levels. The Labor Department reported Thursday filings for benefits ticked up to 206,000 last week from a revised 204,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, […]

16 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Republican lawmakers in the Rose Garden of the W...

Associated Press

The Latest: Trump promises to campaign for Republicans despite sagging popularity

President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record in the White House despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in all of the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress. Also, a federal judge in Boston will hear arguments Thursday on […]

45 minutes ago

Associated Press

Hikers describe intense rain and wind before floodwaters ravage Grand Canyon

Like clockwork, clouds build up in the afternoon, the wind starts to swirl and the skies darken. Then the rain comes. Sometimes it is just a few drops. But on this August afternoon, the monsoon kicked into high gear, setting its sights on a remote section of the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. Down below, dozens […]

51 minutes ago

Protesters hold signs in opposition of the Project Jupiter data center during a demonstration outsi...

Associated Press

EPA proposal could leave the public in the dark on data center plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — A plan by the Environmental Protection Agency could make it harder for the public to learn about and comment on proposed AI data centers that have sparked backlash in communities across the United States and transformed the midterm election landscape. The EPA proposal would eliminate a federal requirement that states notify the […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Gloria Steinem speaks during the 2021 Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony in Oviedo, northe...

Associated Press

Gloria Steinem, a potent voice of US feminism and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, has died

NEW YORK (AP) — Gloria Steinem, the celebrated author and activist who became one of the most visible symbols and potent voices of the U.S. women’s movement and a fierce advocate for feminist causes throughout her life, has died. She was 92. With her trademark streaked hair parted down the middle and large aviator glasses, […]

3 hours ago

Protest ribbons are tied to a fence at Lafayette Park, near the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026...

Associated Press

Trump’s plan for a fence at Lafayette Park near White House gets review by federal panel

The latest pieces of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging Washington makeover are set for an airing Thursday in front of a federal panel that already has blessed other big-ticket plans from the designer-in-chief. The National Capital Planning Commission, which this spring approved Trump’s White House ballroom proposal after he razed the Executive Mansion’s East Wing without […]

9 hours ago

The Latest: Supreme Court is set to rule on Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship