House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is considering ways to enshrine President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship into law after the Supreme Court ruled against it last week.
Politico reported that Johnson is thinking about bringing a bill to the House floor that would prevent pregnant women from entering the United States illegally just to give birth so their babies will automatically become U.S. citizens.
The idea is aimed at reducing incentives for people to enter the country illegally while preserving the integrity of U.S. citizenship.
Johnson has a few options if he wants to pass legislation aimed at restricting birthright citizenship. He could advance a measure that specifically targets “birth tourism” by making it harder for pregnant women to enter the country just to have babies. This would get plenty of support among GOP lawmakers.
Mike Johnson is putting a bill on the House Floor that would end birth tourism in the U.S.
— Unfiltered Artist (@EmpireEnjoyer3) July 8, 2026
House Republicans could also try pushing a constitutional amendment that would drastically change or end birthright citizenship. However, Johnson and others acknowledged that such a process would take far more time and involve more obstacles.
Still, Johnson said Republicans are “looking at all angles” after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s executive order. He said if there is a “legislative fix,” Congress will pursue it quickly.
However, even if the House passes the bill, it would likely face insurmountable obstacles in the Senate with several Republican lawmakers who wouldn’t support it. It would likely experience the same gridlock as the SAVE America Act.
THE BIRTHRIGHT FIGHT ISN'T OVER
— Brian Bullock | Everyone Knows (@EveryoneKnws1) July 8, 2026
The Supreme Court struck down Trump's birthright citizenship order 6-3. But the man who wrote it says the fight's just moving to new ground.
The next battle: Congress, where Speaker Johnson is "looking at all angles," and the US territories, where…
For starters, some Senate Republicans have repeatedly bucked Trump’s agenda and would likely do so here. We can’t discount the impact of TDS on even some right-leaning lawmakers.
But there is also the fact that the midterm elections are inching ever so closer, and it’s unlikely Republicans will want to take on such a controversial issue when they are battling to maintain control of the legislature.
Of course, if Republicans manage to maintain control of both chambers of Congress after the midterms, there might be little stopping them from taking up the issues with the new legislature. Either way, it appears any legislative effort to end birthright citizenship won’t produce any fruit before the midterms, which is probably why Republicans won’t push for it.
