Supreme Court hands Trump major win by curbing nationwide Injunctions

The US Supreme Court on Friday backed President Donald Trump in his bid to limit the reach of lower court rulings that have repeatedly stalled key parts of his policy agenda.

In a 6-3 ruling stemming from Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship, the court said nationwide injunctions issued by lower court judges “likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts.”

The top court did not immediately rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship.

These broad court orders have been central to the president’s ongoing clashes with the judiciary over his efforts to reshape immigration policy, cut government spending, and assert greater control over independent agencies.

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to refuse to recognise the citizenship of children born in the United States who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also called a “green card” holder.

More than 150,000 newborns would be denied citizenship annually under Trump’s directive, according to the plaintiffs who challenged it, including the Democratic attorneys general of 22 states as well as immigrant rights advocates and pregnant immigrants.

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The case before the Supreme Court was unusual in that the administration used it to argue that federal judges lack the authority to issue nationwide, or “universal,” injunctions, and asked the justices to rule that way and enforce the president’s directive even without weighing its legal merits.

Federal judges have taken steps including issuing nationwide orders impeding Trump’s aggressive use of executive action to advance his agenda.

The plaintiffs argued that Trump’s directive ran afoul of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1861-1865 that ended slavery in the United States. The 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause states that all “persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

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The ruling could have lasting consequences — not just for the remainder of Trump’s presidency, but for future administrations across both political parties, reported CNN.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s final appointee to the Supreme Court, authored the sweeping majority opinion.

“(F)ederal courts do not exercise general oversight of the executive branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them,” CNN quoted Barrett as writing for the majority.

“When a court concludes that the executive branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too,” Barrett added.

Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi responded to the court’s ruling backing President  Trump’s effort to curtail lower court orders that have hampered his agenda for months.

“Today, the Supreme Court instructed district courts to STOP the endless barrage of nationwide injunctions against President Trump. This would not have been possible without tireless work from our excellent lawyers @TheJusticeDept and our Solicitor General John Sauer,” Bondi wrote on X.

“This Department of Justice will continue to zealously defend @POTUS’s policies and his authority to implement them.”

With inputs from agencies