April 1, 2026

Today is a day unlike any other than I can remember.

At 10:00 a.m., the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. Barbara. In this case, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Fourteenth Amendment does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. Many scholars, including myself, had thought this issue had been settled for more than 150 years. But over the past year, there has been an explosion of scholarship that has presented arguments on both sides of the case. I have concluded that this issue is much closer than when I first studied it, but on balance, I think the plaintiffs have the stronger argument.

In another first, President Trump attended the oral argument. This is apparently the first time a sitting President has attended a Supreme Court case–especially one about him. President Nixon wanted to argue the Pentagon Papers case, but decided against it. Here is how Randy and I described the exchange in our 100 Cases book:

On June 23, a circuit split formed. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New York, enjoined the Times from publishing certain materials that could harm national security. But the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the Washington Post. On June 24, the parties filed appeals in the Supreme Court. In the Oval Office, President Nixon said, “I ought to argue that case before the Supreme Court, if it gets there.” He joked that Justice “Black and the rest of them would take out after me like gangbusters, and I’d knock their goddamn brains out.” On June 25, the Justices agreed to hear the case, and scheduled oral argument for June 26. Nixon would not argue the case.

According to the New York Times, Trump left after Solicitor General Sauer finished his argument. I suspect he was not pleased–in particular with the questions posed by Justices Gorsuch and Barrett. Though if Trump had stuck around, the President might have seen some tough questions posed for Cecilia Wang, counsel for the ACLU.

Today, around 6:30 p.m., the Artemis mission is scheduled to blast off for the moon.

Tonight, around 8:00 p.m., President Trump will give a primetime address on the conflict in Iran. Will he announce a ceasefire or an escalation? Tune in to find out.

What a remarkable day. As is my practice, I no longer write April Fool’s Day posts.

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