Supreme Court Prepares Landmark Rulings on Trump's Fed Firing Power and Birthright Citizenship

The court's final stretch — and its highest stakes

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to deliver the last rulings of its current term this week, with two cases standing above the rest. The justices are expected to rule on President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and on his executive order rewriting birthright citizenship — twin decisions that could redefine the limits of presidential authority for a generation.nationalpost

The justices are scheduled to take the bench at least twice starting Monday at 10 a.m. Washington time to issue the remaining eight opinions.nationalpost Chief Justice John Roberts signaled the court's skepticism during April's oral arguments on birthright citizenship, responding to the administration's claim that "birth tourism" had created a new world undermining historical norms: "It's the same Constitution."nationalpost

A hundred years of Fed independence on the line

No president has ever fired a Federal Reserve governor in the agency's 112-year history, making Trump's removal of Cook in August 2025 a genuine constitutional first.nationalpost Trump cited alleged mortgage fraud — allegations Cook firmly denies — as justification under the Federal Reserve Act's "for cause" removal standard.nationalpost During arguments in January, most justices appeared reluctant to allow the removal before she had a chance to contest the charges. University of Chicago law professor William Baude told reporters this month that the court was "likely" to rule against the administration.nationalpost

Cook incurred more than $1.3 million in legal and security costs fighting the case, according to a financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics — expenses covered largely by two nonprofit organizations, Democracy Defenders Fund and Contina Impact.cnbc The high costs also reflect the personal exposure Cook faced after her home address was made public following the administration's accusations.cnbc

Birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment

In Trump v. Barbara, the administration asks the court to accept its reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment: that children born to undocumented immigrants or people on temporary visas are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States and are ineligible for automatic citizenship.abcnews An estimated 255,000 children born annually to noncitizen parents would lose that birthright status under the order, according to the Migration Policy Institute.abcnews The court previously rejected similar arguments in the landmark 1898 Wong Kim Ark ruling, and multiple justices have openly questioned the administration's current position.abcnews

Warsh and a central bank under pressure

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is attending the European Central Bank's annual forum in Sintra this week, where questions about how a Trump victory in Cook would compromise monetary policy independence are unavoidable.wixx A ruling permitting presidential removal of Fed governors could open the door for Trump to reshape the Board of Governors by ousting officials who have resisted his calls for lower interest rates.nationalpost A bipartisan coalition of former Fed chairs and Treasury secretaries warned the court in an amicus brief that greater presidential control over the Fed "could undermine central-bank independence and create economic instability."wixx