WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in one of the most consequential cases of its term, centered on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship.
The policy, which Trump signed the day he was inaugurated for his second term, would deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily in a move that challenges long-standing interpretations of the 14th Amendment. Lower courts have blocked the order nationwide, and a final ruling from the high court is expected by early summer.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer is leading the Trump administration’s case before the Supreme Court. Appointed in April 2025 as the 49th U.S. solicitor general, Sauer previously served in the same role for the state of Missouri from 2017 to 2023.
Before that, he worked as a federal prosecutor and in private practice, including founding his own law firm. He has argued cases at multiple levels of the judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court and federal appellate courts.
Sauer also clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and is a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Harvard Law School.
He has become a key legal figure for Trump, earning a reputation as a trusted litigator after helping secure major wins for the Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling that prevented him from facing criminal charges and recognized broad presidential immunity for core actions taken during the role. His name has also been floated as a potential future Supreme Court nominee.
In the birthright citizenship case, Sauer argued the court should correct what he called “long-enduring misconceptions about the Constitution’s meaning,” asserting that children of noncitizens are not automatically entitled to citizenship, which is a position lower courts have rejected so far.
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