Supreme Court to Deliver Landmark Rulings on Fed Independence and Birthright Citizenship

The most consequential week yet for the court's Trump docket

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to deliver the final seven opinions of its current term this week, with two cases carrying historic stakes: whether President Trump has the power to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor, and whether his executive order restricting birthright citizenship can stand.reuters +1 Rulings are expected starting Monday at 10 a.m. Washington time, and analysts describe the pair as the most audacious power grabs still awaiting judicial review — each targeting a pillar of American governance that has stood for decades or more.moneycontrol

Can a president fire a Federal Reserve governor?

Trump attempted to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook in August 2025, citing mortgage fraud allegations she denies; she sued to block the firing and has remained at the board pending the outcome.cnbc The legal battle has cost Cook more than $1.3 million in legal and security fees, covered by nonprofit organizations and pro-bono contributors.cnbc +1 During oral arguments in January, several justices signaled reluctance to allow the administration to remove Cook before she had the opportunity to formally contest the allegations.moneycontrol

A ruling for Trump could open the door to further removals at the Fed — including of governors who have resisted his public pressure to cut interest rates — and potentially let the president reshape the central bank's policymaking board.moneycontrol The case travels alongside a parallel dispute involving the Federal Trade Commission, in which Trump is asking the court to overturn a 91-year-old precedent protecting top officials at independent agencies from being fired without cause — though the court has already signaled any such ruling would not automatically apply to the Fed.moneycontrol

Birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment

The second high-stakes case, Trump v. Barbara, centers on an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office attempting to end automatic citizenship for children born to noncitizen parents.abcnews The 14th Amendment has been interpreted for more than a century to grant citizenship to nearly all persons born on U.S. soil; Supreme Court precedent going back to the 1898 Wong Kim Ark ruling has consistently upheld that reading.abcnews

Trump's order would restrict birthright citizenship to babies with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, a change that would affect an estimated 250,000 children born each year to undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors.abcnews +1 During April oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts appeared skeptical of the administration's position, pushing back against the government's claim that so-called birth tourism had created a "new world": "It's a new world," Roberts said. "It's the same Constitution."abcnews University of Chicago law professor William Baude said it seems "likely the court is going to rule against the administration" in both the Cook and birthright cases, though he cautioned the scope of any decision remained unclear.moneycontrol