Amy Coney Barrett, a Donald Trump appointee to the United States Supreme Court, drew sharp condemnation from conservative critics after joining Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberals in a 5-4 decision striking down Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship. The court closed its term with decisions on three major cases — birthright citizenship, transgender athlete eligibility, and campaign finance coordination — handing Trump one significant defeat and two narrower wins. Barrett wrote the majority opinion in the birthright citizenship case and in a separate 5-4 decision upholding a Mississippi law that permits mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day.
Birthright Citizenship Ruling Anchored in the 14th Amendment
The birthright citizenship opinion, authored by Barrett, held that Trump's executive effort violated the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 to protect the rights of newly freed slaves. Barrett and Roberts crossed the court's conservative bloc to join the three liberal justices, forming the five-vote majority. Trump called the mail-in ballot ruling a "tremendous loss."
Conservative Critics Target Barrett
The backlash on the right was immediate. Conservative author Hans Mahncke wrote on X that "the worst part is that she'll be there pushing leftist policies for the next 40 years." Some Trump allies, according to The New York Times, called Barrett — who has seven children, including two Black children adopted from Haiti — a "DEI hire." Barrett also dissented in a separate case this week involving Trump's authority to fire a Federal Reserve governor, arguing the majority was wrong to decide the question narrowly on an emergency basis rather than on the merits.
Carroll Judgment Stands; Two Rulings Favor Conservative Positions
The court declined to review a case stemming from a $5 million judgment against Trump in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll, who had alleged defamation and sexual assault; the refusal to take up Trump's appeal left the judgment intact and exhausted his options. On the two cases that went the administration's way, the court allowed political parties to coordinate directly with candidates and upheld the right of states to bar biological males from competing in women's sports.
A Swing Vote With an Established Record of Independence
Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor who is Catholic and associated with a charismatic Christian community called People of Praise, has repeatedly ruled against her own stated personal views. She voted to reinstate the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bomber despite her personal opposition to capital punishment. Roberts, during his own confirmation hearing, famously described the judicial role as "calling balls and strikes" — a formulation the Senate accepted at the time and that Barrett's critics now invoke only selectively. A court with three Trump appointees still handed the president its biggest defeat of the term. That is the round-trip the backlash wants forgotten.