WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump plans to sit in on Wednesday鈥檚 Supreme Court hearing on , making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation鈥檚 highest court.
The Republican president鈥檚 official schedule, sent out by the White House, included a stop at the Supreme Court, where justices will hear Trump鈥檚 appeal of a lower court ruling that struck down his executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
The order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term, declared that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. It鈥檚 an about-face from the long-standing view that the Constitution鈥檚 14th Amendment and federal law since 1940 confer citizenship to everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions.
It鈥檚 not the first time Trump has considered showing up for a high court hearing. Last year, to attend a hearing on whether he overstepped federal law with his sweeping tariffs, but he decided against it, saying it would have been a distraction.
On Tuesday, however, Trump seemed more sure he鈥檇 be in court for Wednesday鈥檚 hearing while he spoke with reporters in the Oval Office.
鈥淚鈥檓 going,鈥� Trump said, when the upcoming arguments in the birthright citizenship case were mentioned. To a follow-up question clarifying that he planned to go in person, Trump said, 鈥淚 think so, I do believe.鈥�
Trump went to the Supreme Court in his first term for of two justices he appointed, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The ceremony for Trump鈥檚 third appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, was delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Trump, who was no longer in office, did not attend.
Other presidents have dealt directly with the court, but don鈥檛 appear to have done so while in office. Richard Nixon argued a case between his time as vice president and president, and William Howard Taft served as chief justice after his presidency.
Trump, asked to whom he would be listening most closely, went on a lengthy detour Tuesday describing a court he viewed as mostly partisan, between justices appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents.
鈥淚 love a few of them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like some others.鈥�
The citizenship restrictions are a part of Trump鈥檚 broader immigration crackdown, but they have not yet taken effect anywhere in the country after being blocked by several courts.
A definitive ruling from the Supreme Court is expected by early summer.
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This story was first published on March 31, 2026. It was published again on April 1, 2026, to make clear that President Donald Trump attended the swearing-in ceremony for Brett Kavanaugh in addition to the ceremony for Neil Gorsuch.
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