Republicans on Capitol Hill erupt over birthright-citizenship decision * WorldNetDaily * by Pedro Rodriguez, The Daily Signal
Republicans on Capitol Hill erupt over birthright-citizenship decision
By Pedro Rodriguez, The Daily Signal
Congressional conservatives are slamming the Supreme Court of the United States after it ruled to strike down a request from the president to redefine birthright citizenship.
The 6-3 decision comes after President Donald Trump’s administration argued that the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applied to descendants of slaves in the 1800s, and not to the chain migration the United States has been subject to in recent decades.
Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Brett Kavanaugh concurs in part in the judgment and dissents in part. Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissent.
“Neither the Founding Fathers, nor the authors of the 14th Amendment, nor the millions of Americans who fought and died for their country through the ages intended to establish a nation whose citizenship could so easily be purchased, whether through birth tourism of China’s communist party members or an invasion of millions enabled by faithless presidents,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told the Daily Signal.
The clause in the 14th Amendment attracted controversy after U.S. births from noncitizens, especially illegal aliens, increased tremendously in recent years. The U.S. Center for Immigration Studies has estimated that in 2023 alone, between 225,000 and 250,000 births stemmed directly from illegal immigration.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, expanded on Lee’s remarks and told the Daily Signal that the “Supreme Court failed the American people.”
“The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in no way stands for the proposition of creating a dangerous cottage industry of traveling to our soil to manufacture United States citizenship,” Roy continued. “The Supreme Court today should have said so explicitly and ended this damaging exploitation of our laws.”
Roy has now called on Congress to “immediately do at least two things it should have done long ago,” which include “defin[ing] the phrase ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof’ very specifically to make clear that citizenship is tied to the citizenship of the parent, not the soil,” and “completely restrict[ing] funding from DHS or any other agency or state that provides documentation and status to anyone not subject to the ‘jurisdiction thereof.’”
“In other words, Congress must act immediately and must not hide behind the fiction that it must amend the Constitution to fix this abuse of our laws,” Roy continued. “To do otherwise would be an abject failure of the United States Congress.”
Justice Alito is correct — today’s decision was a serious mistake by the Supreme Court.
That’s why Congress must fight to end birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment was never meant to reward illegal aliens for breaking our laws. pic.twitter.com/hXKPWr8JxQ
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) June 30, 2026
In a statement to the Daily Signal, Rep. Keith Self added that the ruling comes as a “catastrophic defeat” to “every American citizen, our national sovereignty, and the very future of our Republic.”
Self added that “American citizenship is a sacred privilege—not a participation trophy handed out to those who violate our laws.”
“The 14th Amendment was never meant to reward illegal aliens with the priceless gift of U.S. citizenship for breaking into our country,” he continued.
The members remarks reflect those of the president.
Prior to the decision, President Donald Trump advocated against birthright citizenship, writing on Truth Social that “we are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!”
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
Birthright citizenship, Republican, Supreme Court
Blackstone Sells Stake In Three Virginia Data Centers Amid Grassroot Outrage
Up until now, when it comes to real estate, Blackstone was best known in recent years for dumping many of its trophy office properties - which in the aftermath of work from home never recovered their projected cash flow potential - at a huge discount. Now, it may be pulling a page from its old, pre-Lehman playbook by calling the top in yet another commercial real estate segment: data centers.
According to Bloomberg, Blackstone is selling its stakes in a trio of data centers across Northern Virginia for $3.5 billion, cashing out of part of a bet it made less than three years ago.
Digital Realty Trust will pay $1.2 billion of cash and offer $2.3 billion of its shares to Blackstone funds, the firms said in a statement Monday. In exchange, the data center company will acquire Blackstone’s 80% interest in two 96-megawatt data centers in Manassas, Virginia, and a 50% interest in a 96-megawatt center in nearby Sterling.
The assets involved in this week’s sale were part of a joint venture that Blackstone announced it would set up with Digital Realty in 2023 as it sought to get ahead in the AI arms race that has engulfed Wall Street in recent years. Blackstone and Digital Realty will continue to work together on their remaining data center investments located elsewhere in Northern Virginia as well as in Paris and Frankfurt.
“We have developed a strong partnership with Blackstone,” Greg Wright, Digital Realty CEO, said in the statement. “This transaction reflects the next phase of that relationship, allowing us to increase our ownership in a portfolio of fully leased, high-quality hyperscale assets.”
It does. The question is why did Blackstone decide to pull the cord now, just as fresh doubts are creeping whether the Mag 7s will continue funding the AI expansion with virtually unlimited capex.
As part of Wall Street’s broader push into data centers, investment has poured into Northern Virginia, which is considered the country’s largest data center market, and is better known as "Data Center Alley".
That includes Digital Gateway, an ambitious plan for a 2,100-acre corridor in the region that would house as many as 37 data-center buildings.
Data center developers eyeing that land have faced strident opposition. Compass Datacenters, backed by Brookfield Asset Management, recently pulled out of a yearslong effort to build a key part of the development after facing intense pushback from local residents. Blackstone’s QTS is also fighting in court to salvage a similarly sized development on adjacent parcels.
The increasingly vocal political and grassroots pushback against new data center construction may explain why Blackstone is getting cold feet just as the AI bubble is peaking. A recent Gallup poll found that 7 in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their local area, including nearly half, 48%, who are strongly opposed. Barely a quarter favor these projects, with 7% strongly in favor.
Half of opponents mention data centers’ excessive use of resources, including 18% each mentioning their use of water and energy. Sixteen percent mention a related environmental concern of pollution, including noise pollution and air and water pollution.
About one in five opponents are concerned with the impact on local quality of life, including increased population, increased traffic and preferring that the land be used for other purposes. A similar share mention potentially negative economic consequences, including higher utility bills, cost-of-living increases, and the cost of building the data centers (which could involve the use of taxpayer funds).
Most of the remaining opposition stems from general or specific concerns about artificial intelligence.
Blackstone, which manages more than $1.3 trillion, bills itself as the largest global provider of data centers, and also owns some of the utilities that power them. It acquired QTS in 2021 and bought Australian computing provider AirTrunk in 2024. In May, the firm held an initial public offering for Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust Inc., its data center acquisition vehicle, which aims to buy already built and leased properties benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom.
The firm has more than $150 billion of data center assets, and it has identified an additional $160 billion worth of opportunities for its pipeline, CEO Steve Schwarzman said in April.
Affiliates of Blackstone are already selling the Digital Realty equity they’re set to receive from this week’s deal, which is expected to be completed Tuesday. They’re offering the stock at as much as a 2.9% discount to Monday’s closing price of $190.58, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar.
