House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) visibly reacted with dismay on Tuesday when a journalist informed him that the Supreme Court had upheld birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. The moment, captured on CSPAN, showed Johnson rolling his eyes and groaning audibly before composing himself to respond.
Johnson's Reaction to the Ruling
Johnson was mid-explanation of his opposition to the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment when a reporter relayed the high court's decision. "Oh dear, what’d they rule?" he asked, then rolled his eyes and let out a groan. Despite his clear displeasure, he attempted to offer a measured statement: "Well, uh, I need to read the opinion, OK? But uh, obviously that’s, I mean, you could say that’s a textualist and originalist view."
The Supreme Court had previously affirmed that individuals born in the U.S. are guaranteed citizenship by the Constitution. Last week, Johnson predicted the conservative-majority court would take an originalist and textualist approach to the arguments.
Johnson's Stance on Birthright Citizenship
Johnson continued to assert that birthright citizenship has been "grossly abused in recent years" and called it "a serious problem." He argued that the logical response to the ruling is to amend the Constitution to prohibit birthright citizenship, though he acknowledged the difficulty: such an amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, plus ratification by 75% of states.
"I will say, I’m very disappointed in that outcome," Johnson added, according to the CSPAN clip.
