By Jim Thomas
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said the U.S. Supreme Court “got this wrong” in its June 30 decision on birthright citizenship, stating that Congress is weighing every option — including a constitutional amendment — to curb what he called abuses of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause.
His remarks came days after the justices ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Barbara that children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth, striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order.
Johnson, a former constitutional law litigator, said the ruling caught Republicans without a legislative fallback and that leaders are still analyzing the opinion.
“It may well require an amendment, but we’re looking at all possible angles to see if there’s anything short of that that Congress can enact by statute to try to limit these abuses,” he stated in remarks on a show.
Johnson noted that the amendment path requires two-thirds of both chambers of Congress and three-fourths of states. He said President Trump has urged Congress to codify his order by statute instead, but Johnson stopped short of endorsing that route, saying the opinion “just came down this week” and lawmakers are still conducting “the deep, deep analysis.”
Constitutional scholars have indicated that the majority’s reasoning likely forecloses a statutory workaround. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote minutes after the ruling that “we’re going to need a constitutional amendment,” a view Johnson shared.
Johnson framed the issue as urgent, citing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s description of a national security risk from Chinese nationals who travel to the United States in the eighth month of pregnancy, give birth to U.S. citizen children, then return to China to train those children as Marxist spies before sending them back to the U.S. for universities and corporate jobs.
Federal agencies have not publicly confirmed data quantifying this practice.
Johnson also addressed the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America after Melat Kiros ousted 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., in Tuesday’s Denver-area primary. He predicted a short-term political benefit for Republicans but warned of a broader ideological shift.
“These are outright Marxist candidates,” Johnson said. “Their positions, what they’re saying and advocating for out loud, they’re not trying to hide it. We’re not arguing here in Washington anymore about marginal tax rates or regulation; we’re trying to decide if we’re going to maintain a constitutional republic.”
Johnson argued that the moment underscored the need for the SAVE America Act, a proof-of-citizenship voting measure that stalled Tuesday when 14 Republicans joined Democrats to block a procedural rule.
