The deadline to ask the Supreme Court for a rehearing passed with no petition from the Trump administration, according to the Associated Press. That means the Court’s recent ruling that struck down limits on birthright citizenship remains in place for now, and there’s no fresh request on the docket to revisit it.
The missed filing closed the limited window the administration had to seek a rehearing, AP reported. Shortly after the decision, President Donald Trump said he would seek a rehearing, but no such motion was filed before the deadline, the AP story noted. The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to AP.
In its ruling, the Court rejected limits on birthright citizenship tied to an executive action; several lower courts had already blocked those restrictions, the AP story said.
The opinions reflected differing views among the justices, with some expressing support for the restrictions and others rejecting them, according to AP’s account of the decision.
Rehearings at the Supreme Court are rare. AP cited a law professor who said the Court hasn’t agreed to rehear an argued case in decades and that such a step would require at least one justice who ruled against the administration to change course, with a majority of the Court also agreeing to reopen the matter. In short, even if a petition had been filed, the odds were long.
The Daily Beast, which also reported on the lapsed deadline, noted that the policy had been blocked by lower courts and never implemented. Both outlets reported that the administration offered no last-minute filing to keep the issue alive at the Court.
Where things stand after the deadline is straightforward: the Supreme Court’s recent decision remains in force, rejecting the attempt to narrow birthright citizenship. Without a rehearing petition on file, there’s no immediate pathway for the administration to get the justices to revisit that ruling.
Why it matters
For families, hospitals, and government offices that process births and documents, nothing changes: children born in the United States continue to receive citizenship automatically under current law, and the policy that would have limited that right remains blocked. The administration missed the procedural window to ask the Court to reconsider, and rehearings are rare even when requested. For busy Americans, the practical takeaway is continuity—the rules for citizenship at birth may stay as they are.