WASHINGTON — Usually, when a Supreme Court session starts, all eyes in the courtroom are on the mahogany bench behind which the justices sit.
Not this time.
Abuzz with word that President Donald Trump would become the first sitting president known to have attended a Supreme Court oral argument, reporters and others in the courtroom were craning their necks in the opposite direction.
Trump, who had suggested he wanted to attend a session last year when the court weighed his sweeping tariffs but ultimately abstained, appeared in his signature dark suit and red tie a few minutes before arguments began over his contentious executive order that would limit birthright citizenship.
He took a seat in the middle of the courtroom facing the bench, joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House Counsel David Warrington and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a row where senior government officials often sit.
Supreme Court hears arguments over birthright citizenship
Trump sat impassively as the justices, including three he appointed, entered the courtroom and then stood, along with all others in attendance, as is customary.
If the justices were aware of his presence, they didn’t show it.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a frequent target of Trump’s criticism, swiftly brought the court to order, without acknowledging his special guest.
Trump joined the ranks of other high-profile litigants who have attended oral arguments, including former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith and, more recently, Federal Reserve member Lisa Cook.
What makes Trump different is the invective he has aimed at the very justices whom he wants to win over. After the tariffs loss, he referred to those who voted against him — including Roberts and two other conservative justices — as a "disgrace to our nation" and "very unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution."
Before the justices entered the courtroom on Wednesday, some lawyers who had been scheduled weeks ago to be sworn in as members of the Supreme Court bar expressed surprise that the president would be in attendance for what they considered their special moment.
Trump could be seen looking over at the lawyers being sworn in before the main event began.
He remained impassive but relatively attentive as his own lawyer, Solicitor General D. John Sauer, faced a barrage of tough questions from both conservative and liberal justices about whether his executive order violated the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
The justices, while expressing skepticism about Trump’s plan, were perhaps slightly more muted than usual.
The only direct reference to Trump came from liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, although she didn’t mention him by name.
While Trump's birthright citizenship plan would only apply going forward, she said, “this president, or the next president” could apply it retroactively, potentially to millions of people, if the court accepted his legal arguments.
Soon after Cecillia Wang — the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer leading the challenge to his executive order — began her argument, Trump abruptly stood and left the courtroom to attend an Easter lunch at the White House.
His snap verdict was quickly delivered on Truth Social: “We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow 'Birthright' Citizenship!”
While Trump, as his past actions have suggested, may have intended to influence the justices, there was little sign that he would. Several conservative justices, including those he appointed, appeared to be unswayed by Sauer's argument.
The real work in the case will now happen behind closed doors as the justices deliberate and write their ruling, expected by the end of June.
Closeted in their chambers, the president’s gaze can’t reach them there.
