The Big One: Birthright Citizenship Is Upheld
What A Day
What A Day
4.6 • 12.7K Ratings
🗓️ 30 June 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would have made the children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors non-citizens — rendering them effectively stateless. And while six Supreme Court justices struck down that executive order today, three sided with Trump. So what does this ruling mean — and what’s next for the issue of birthright citizenship? To find out, we spoke to Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. She argued before the Supreme Court in favor of birthright citizenship.
And in headlines, the Supreme Court issues major rulings on trans rights and campaign finance, Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. returns to D.C. after four months away, and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought testifies before a House appropriations subcommittee on federal spending.
Show Notes:
- Learn more about the ACLU – www.aclu.org
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
- Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
- Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | President Trump can't do this through congressional action, and he should take a look around him, and he'll soon realize that any effort at a constitutional amendment is a dead end for him because the vast majority of Americans cherish birthright citizenship. |
| 0:32.9 | I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day, the show wishing 41-year-old LeBron James' |
| 0:38.0 | many happy returns as he reportedly plans to leave the Los Angeles Lakers for a new team next season. |
| 0:43.5 | Sure, by basketball standards, he's nearing retirement. But by political standards, |
| 0:48.5 | LeBron James is just a tiny child, with decades of important contributions to make in the future. |
| 0:54.8 | On today's show, it's the big one. We get into birthright citizenship with the woman who argued before the Supreme Court to save it, American Civil Liberties Union National Legal Director, Cecilia Wong. |
| 1:00.9 | Before we get into all that, here's what we're following today, Tuesday, June 30th. |
| 1:07.2 | Let's start with the other decisions the Supreme Court made today. The Supreme Court ruled against |
| 1:12.2 | the rights of trans kids and their ability to play sports with their peers, because, of course, they did, |
| 1:16.8 | in a decision encompassing two cases, one from Idaho and one from West Virginia. The court ruled that |
| 1:22.3 | state laws that barred trans kids from playing sports and girls and women's sports teams did not |
| 1:26.3 | violate either the |
| 1:27.6 | Constitution's guarantee of equal protection or Title IX, which forbids sex-based discrimination |
| 1:33.2 | in education. All three liberal justices dissented in the decision. In his majority opinion, |
| 1:39.2 | Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued that the ruling was necessary to, quote, reduce the risk of |
| 1:43.6 | physical injury |
| 1:44.3 | and ensure fair competition. However, trans kids and their families who are already facing an |
| 1:49.8 | oppressive federal government and state governments willing to drive them from their homes |
| 1:53.3 | should take heart. Kavanaugh added, quote, no student athlete on either side of the issue, |
| 1:58.6 | whether a biological female or transgender deserves to be |
| 2:01.7 | ostracized or vilified. Yeah, that'll make it all better. The Supreme Court also erase limits |
| 2:09.7 | on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for federal office. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 28 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from What A Day, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of What A Day and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.