The U.S. Supreme Court ended its 2026 term with two massive rulings, saving birthright citizenship while allowing states to ban trans student athletes.
On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the United States Supreme Court delivered two of its most anticipated and historic decisions in decades on the final day of its term in Washington, D.C. The high court’s 6- 3 conservative majority issued a striking split decision. They completely rejected President Donald Trump’s executive order to end automatic birthright citizenship, while simultaneously voting to uphold state bans that prevent transgender girls and women from competing in female school sports.
The first major ruling focused on the future of birthright citizenship, the legal principle stating that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically an American citizen. President Trump had issued an executive order to deny this right to children born to undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders. In a landmark 63-vote, the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s order and protected the 150-year-old tradition. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, explicitly stating that the post-Civil War creators of the 14th Amendment wrote the law to ensure citizenship could never be wiped away by a president’s executive pen. Legal advocates celebrated the choice, noting it saves hundreds of thousands of children from becoming stateless each year.
The second decision shifted the spotlight to the country’s ongoing culture wars regarding transgender rights. The justices voted 6- 3 to uphold strict sports bans originally passed in Idaho and West Virginia. These state laws require K-12 public schools and colleges to separate athletic teams strictly by a student’s biological sex recorded at birth. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, explaining that the Constitution and Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in education, do not stop states from enforcing these limits. He argued that the bans are legally justified to protect competitive fairness and safety for biological girls.
It is important to note that this sports ruling does not create a blanket national ban. Instead, it allows individual states to make their own choices. Right now, over two dozen Republican-led states have these restrictions on the books and can keep them. In contrast, states like California can continue allowing transgender students to play on teams that match their gender identity.
Together, these twin rulings bring a dramatic close to a highly watched judicial session. They highlight a Supreme Court willing to push back heavily against presidential power over immigration, even while leaning into conservative social policies regarding sports and gender.
