WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration missed the Tuesday deadline to request the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision rejecting the president’s proposed restrictions on birthright citizenship, as no new filings were made.
President Donald Trump had promised to pursue a rehearing soon after the court’s unfavorable decision on this pivotal issue. However, by the end of the 25-day period, there had been no further actions taken.
Submitting a petition for rehearing would face significant challenges, as the court has not agreed to revisit an argued case in over half a century.
In June, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision that nullified Trump’s executive order, which aimed to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
These proposed birthright citizenship restrictions had previously been halted by several lower courts before reaching the Supreme Court, and were never put into effect nationwide.
Nevertheless, three justices—Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas—expressed support for the restrictions. Another justice, Brett Kavanaugh, acknowledged that the Constitution did not block the president’s plan, although he noted it violated federal law.
Following the ruling, Trump announced on social media his intention to “be asking for a Rehearing by the United States Supreme Court, IMMEDIATELY.”
The White House and Justice Department did not provide an immediate response to inquiries for comment.
The Supreme Court last granted a petition to alter an opinion in 1965, and the most recent reversal of a decision occurred nearly a decade earlier, in 1956, according to Aaron-Andrew Bruhl, a law professor at William & Mary Law School.
Bruhl noted that the threshold for granting a rehearing petition is considerable, requiring at least one justice who opposed Trump to change their stance and a majority of the court to concur.
