Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship, Loosens Campaign Finance Laws, Holds States Can Ban Trans Athletes

I was predicted some kind of split the difference facing saving decision. Instead, the Supreme Court delivered a giant L of a precedent on birthright citizenship which leaves us worse off than before like the previous decision on tariffs. Trump has taken us backwards on both issues.

Washington Post:

“The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the principle that almost everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, a major decision that rejects a push by President Donald Trump to fundamentally redefine who is American in ways not seen for more than 150 years.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices struck down an executive order by the president that said citizenship would not be granted to children born to parents who are in the country illegally or those on temporary visas for work, travel, school or humanitarian reasons.

Trump’s order would have had sweeping political, economic and social ramifications, changing the definition of citizenship in the most significant way since the 14th Amendment guaranteeing citizenship to the formerly enslaved was ratified shortly after the Civil War. …”

The birthright citizenship decision overshadowed a giant win for donors to spend even more money in politics. The conservative justices all agreed that donors don’t have enough influence.

New York Times:

“The Supreme Court lifted limits on Tuesday on how much political parties can spend on advertising and other expenses in coordination with candidates.

The 6-to-3 decision, divided along ideological lines, is a major victory for Republicans and could undercut one of the Democrats’ financial advantages going into the midterms.

The question before the justices was whether current federal limits on such spending — called coordinated party expenditures — violate the First Amendment. During oral arguments, Noel J. Francisco, a lawyer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which brought the legal challenge, told the justices that such limits were “at war” with previous decisions by the court that have found that restricting how money can be spent in politics amounts to limiting speech. …”

Finally, MAGA scored a huge win on the trans women in women’s sports issue, which will impact all 500 or so trans athletes that have been breathlessly covered by FOX News for years now. This decision is the epitome of a pat on the head or throwing culture war peanuts to the base.

CBS News:

“Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled states can prohibit transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, a decision that delivers the latest setback for transgender rights.

In two of the most closely watched cases of its term, the Supreme Court upheld laws from West Virginia and Idaho that restrict transgender athletes’ participation in school sports. The cases are known as West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the opinion for the majority, writing that under Title IX — the landmark law that requires equal opportunity in sports — and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, schools can base eligibility for women and girls’ sports teams on biological sex. …”

This is what a 6-3 conservative majority looks like on the Supreme Court.