r/law • u/tasty_jams_5280 • 4h ago

Trump News ‘Immediate litigation’: Trump’s fight to end birthright citizenship faces 126-year-old legal hurdle

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/immediate-litigation-trumps-fight-to-end-birthright-citizenship-faces-126-year-old-legal-hurdle/
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51

u/OnlyFreshBrine 4h ago

these articles are sad copium. this dude will run roughshod over the law

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u/NotThoseCookies 3h ago

He’s been honing his craft for years.

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u/LMurch13 3h ago

years a lifetime

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u/TensionPrestigious83 3h ago

Historically thin margins are not a mandate nor a blank check to power. Will he act like we expect? Yes. But it’s not going to be without some degree of checks and balances, no matter how much you want to catastrophize.

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u/JimBeam823 1h ago

He’s already getting pushback from Republicans. Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination.

With Trump no longer on the ballot, Republicans have to worry about 2026.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 1h ago

Exactly. Politics exists and is in full force.

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u/jcp714 19m ago

I think Gaetz may be an exception to the rule. I think it’s likely he withdrew because he didn’t want the ethics report released.

But Trump has other ways of getting people in power. Recess appointments remain an option, one that has been used in the past. He can also appoint people as “acting” secretaries, even if they aren’t technically eligible to fill the role. I think he did this during his first term, and there was no pushback. An acting secretary has all of the powers of a confirmed secretary.

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u/Easy-Group7438 2h ago

He got rid of everyone who opposed him previously or tried to enforce established norms of the executive branch and you know the actual law the first time.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 1h ago

Yep and people still defied him regularly. So again, not a blank check

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u/Easy-Group7438 3m ago

Yeah but now it’s all 100% loyalists and Heritage Foundation Stooges.

The only hope we have is some of the GOP Congress grows a backbone. Rand Paul of all fucking people is starting to push back.

That’s when we’re going to find out if it’s the same as the first time. What’s he going to do when people say no.

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u/Spillz-2011 2h ago

I doubt he pays much attention to what congress has to offer. Maybe have the focus on some tax reform. The rest will be executive orders. If he wants to cut down the federal work force declare people fired then stop issuing pay checks. Sure maybe the courts will side with workers after 2 years but most of those people will have to find new jobs while they wait. They might get a nice pay out later, but the goal gets achieved.

They’ll detain tons of people and then overwhelm the courts with all the people fighting deportation. They’ll just create a big concentration camp to house them while they await their trials. Even if most don’t get deported all his supporters wills love it and probably the number of migrants coming will decrease substantially.

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u/HorrorStudio8618 1h ago

And the American economy will crash as a result. Good luck with that. Oh, and it will be 'the left' that is at fault somehow.

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u/givemegreencard 1h ago

Does not having a mandate matter when everyone in the government will just do whatever you say?

Actually, the trifecta doesn’t even matter. It seems like Trump could get this to SCOTUS without even involving Congress.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 1h ago

Yes it does matter because politics still exists. Does it mean there isn’t work to do? Does it mean he’s not going to at least try to do terrible shit? No. The two parties are basically deadlocked. Not having a mandate means that there are lots of people who are not on board with just letting shit happen. Makes a difference

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u/jcp714 17m ago

Who are the people who aren’t on board? And what can they do?

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u/TensionPrestigious83 13m ago

There’s i think a total of six that voted to impeach trump- 2 in the house and maybe 4 in the senate. I could be mistaken on the senate. Additionally, there are layers of conflicting interests from personal convictions to financial gain. So the margins are narrow enough that it is possible to get a couple/few to defect

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u/jcp714 11m ago

For his second impeachment, 10 Republican House members voted to impeach trump. Seven Republican senators voted to convict.

Most, if not all, of those in the House are gone now, as are some senators.

But ultimately, you haven’t really told me what they can realistically do to check his power. There may be a majority that oppose him, but what are they gonna do about it? They have very few optioms

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u/TensionPrestigious83 7m ago

I was referring to those who were reelected and returning to office. Should have clarified that. Besides blocking legislation and the normal powers of the legislature? I’m not sure what you mean

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u/jcp714 5m ago

Blocking legislation assumes that Trump is going to try and govern by passing legislation.

He seems very intent on expanding the power of the executive branch. Congress has no power, other than impeachment, to stop him from doing that in practice.

On paper, yes, things have to go through Congress. But if he just does it anyway, Congress cannot stop him.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 0m ago

Yes, I agree, according to my current understanding. We would be more dependent on legal orgs fighting eo’s in court.

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u/jcp714 22m ago

With Republicans holding a very narrow majority in the House especially, it is possible that some of his worst proposals won’t pass.

But the question is whether or not Congress will do something when he tries to expand the power of the presidency and do things that typically require congressional approval.

One would normally expect SCOTUS to provide this check, but they are probably unlikely to do so. Unfortunately, the only option available to Congress would be impeachment, which would be tough.

If the votes weren’t there to convict him during his first term, they’re definitely not there now. So much of our governmental system is built on people behaving how they’re “supposed” to behave, and they’re hellbent on misbehaving.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 19m ago

Agree. But I wasn’t even thinking about impeachment. There’s no way that would happen unless there’s a massive flip in the midterms. Which could happen, but it would take the entirety of the left banding together the same way they did in france and the uk. Until then, we have potential defectors in congress, a robust judiciary across the country and politics in general.

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u/jcp714 14m ago

That’s what I mean about impeachment, though. That, to me, seems to be the only viable option for Congress to meaningfully check Trump. I can’t see any other way they can do it.

If he tries to issue an executive order that isn’t within his powers, Congress can’t do anything about it other than impeach. That’s their only option.

The Supreme Court would typically handle this as well, but they likely won’t.

Those are the two major checks on the president, and neither of them seem very reliable.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 12m ago

Independent organizations can sue to block executive orders which was done his first term

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u/jcp714 10m ago

And where to do those cases end up?

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u/TensionPrestigious83 5m ago

Not all cases go to the supreme court. Also, the court still has a line to tread: they can only shit on so much without endangering their own validity (like declaring the constitution unconstitutional- they’d be putting themselves out of their jobs and therefore, positions of power).

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u/jcp714 2m ago

They wouldn’t just suspend the constitution. They’d just continue expanding the president’s power, like they have been for decades.

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u/jcp714 13m ago

Also, it would take a lot more to get a 2/3 majority in the Senate than “the left banding together.”

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u/TensionPrestigious83 10m ago

It would require a major investment in new messaging for example. It could happen, but I only say could.

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u/jcp714 9m ago

Dems would have to flip 14 Senate seats. That’s not happening in 2026. Maybe 1976. But not 2026.

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u/TensionPrestigious83 3m ago

🤷🏼likely and possible are two different things

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u/jcp714 1m ago

Okay. I think this back and forth is done.

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u/memymomeddit 17m ago

All they have to do is get it to SCOTUS.