Senator Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, stated on Wednesday that he cannot confirm whether political pressure influenced the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, but he condemned the ruling as departing from the original meaning of the 14th Amendment and poised to have disastrous consequences for future generations.
Speaking during an interview on his program “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Schmitt reacted to Tuesday’s 5-4 decision that struck down Trump’s order, which sought to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are illegally or temporarily present in the country.
Schmitt acknowledged that some justices might have been motivated by concerns about being perceived as overly conservative or facing renewed calls for court expansion. “I think that the court is terrified that they’re viewed as overly conservative,” he said. “I think they’re terrified of it being packed.”
While stopping short of endorsing this conclusion, Schmitt admitted the possibility of political influence: “Maybe there was political pressure here. I don’t really know.”
“But it was a terrible decision. It’s going to have disastrous consequences for generations to come,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt stressed that the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 were intended to guarantee citizenship for children of freed slaves after the Civil War, not to establish what critics call birth tourism.
“When the 14th Amendment was drafted along with the Civil Rights Act of 1866 … they wanted to make sure that the slaves’ kids would be made free, that they were full citizens of the United States of America,” Schmitt added. “They never intended this.”
He noted that lawmakers at the time specifically discussed individuals “not subject to a foreign power” and stated that Senator Jacob Howard, who introduced the Citizenship Clause, “never believed this would happen.”
Schmitt also echoed concerns raised in Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent, describing birth tourism as a growing national security threat. “You literally have right now an industry propped up, this birth tourism, where CCP generals in China are sending their wives or girlfriends to come to the United States to give birth,” he said.
He added that these children could later return on their 18th birthday to contribute, vote, and even run for office.
Despite criticizing the ruling, Schmitt cited potential avenues for change: “There’s a temporary action that the president can take by way of executive order. There’s a statutory fix that Kavanaugh opened the door for that we should walk through or, of course, a constitutional amendment to seal it.”
