House Speaker Mike Johnson said on July 5 that House Republicans will move quickly on Birthright Citizenship limits after the Supreme Court shielded the policy from President Donald Trump's order. In the United States Congress, he said lawmakers are looking at all angles, with a fast legislative fix the first option.
Johnson said, "If there's some legislative fix, we'll advance that immediately" during an interview on Sunday. He added, "If it's a constitutional amendment, as you know, it takes a little more time. But we've got to address this."
July 5 on Sunday
That split reflects the practical choice in front of House Republicans. A statute can move through the House and Senate with ordinary majorities, but a Constitutional Amendment needs two-thirds approval in both chambers and ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Johnson's remarks came after Donald Trump pressed the issue on June 30, writing that "No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary!" He also wrote, "Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship," and added, "They will have my Complete and Total Support!"
Brett Kavanaugh and Congress
Justice Brett Kavanaugh was part of the 6-3 Supreme Court majority that overturned Trump's executive order on June 30. In a separate writing, he said, "Congress could... otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country," and added, "But Congress has not yet done so."
That leaves House Republicans with the narrower path. Kavanaugh's writing points to legislation as an available route, while the Constitution route faces a hurdle so high that there is no realistic way it could pass in this Congress. The House has essentially a one-vote margin, which makes even a basic bill harder to move.
Chip Roy on the House floor
Rep. Chip Roy added another sign of the pressure inside the House. On the House floor, he said he had "no interest in funding the operations of a government that has been undermined by this United States Supreme Court."
That kind of warning matters for the next step because House Republicans still have to decide whether they can agree on a concrete legislative fix. If they cannot, the constitutional path remains mostly a statement of support rather than a workable option in this Congress.
