Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Reporting from Washington DC

For weeks, we have been waiting for one of the most important Supreme Court decisions of the current term.

On the last day before the court paused for the summer, the opinion appeared.

In a 6-3 decision, the conservative majority curbed the powers of lower court judges to block President Donald Trump's orders nationwide.

At the White House, Trump called the ruling a "monumental victory for the constitution".

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, from the liberal wing of the court, wrote the dissenting opinion. Sotomayor described it as an "open invitation for the government to bypass the Constitution".

The case stems from President Trump's order to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. The court's ruling did not directly tackle the constitutionality of Trump's order, and it will likely to end up before the top court at a later date.

We are pausing our live coverage, but you can read more analysis on the impact of today's ruling for Trump's power here.

The leading Democrats on Capitol Hill have sharply criticised the Supreme Court's decision to curb judges' power to block President Donald Trump's orders nationwide.

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the court "recklessly limited the ability of federal district courts to issue nationwide injunctions. However, the judicial fight to protect birthright citizenship is alive and well. Every child born in the United States is an American citizen. We will not rest until that constitutional right is completely and unequivocally protected."

US Senate's Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the ruling as "an unprecedented and terrifying step toward authoritarianism, a grave danger to our democracy".

"By weakening the power of district courts to check the presidency, the Court is not defending the Constitution—it’s defacing it," he added.

Republican leaders have welcomed of the decision.

"The Supreme Court made it clear that these rogue politically-motivated judges have exceeded their authority, and this overtly political practice must end," House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

Vice President JD Vance said "A huge rulling by the Supreme Court, smacking down the ridiculous process of nationwide injunctions. Under our system, everyone has to follow the law -including judges!

Put simply, the Supreme Court is the keeper of US laws.

The justices decide whether laws and government actions follow the US constitution. They also interpret laws passed by congress to decide if they are being correctly carried out.

Americans do not vote for who can serve on the court. Justices are appointed by the president and then approved by the Senate.

They serve for life or until they voluntarily retire, and they can only be removed by impeachment. Congress has only attempted an impeachment once, more than 200 years ago, and it failed.

Robin Levinson King
North America reporter

The ruling has struck a blow to the power lower courts will have to check executive overreach. But exactly what will happen next remains to be seen.

The court found that injunctions must be limited to the plaintiffs who sue the government - they cannot be broadly applied nationwide, as has been the case.

Margo Schlanger, who teaches at University of Michigan Law School and is the director of the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, says that while the court has made it "much harder" for people to fight presidential orders, it has left a door open for states to sue on behalf of citizens nationwide.

Over 20 states filed suit against the president's order to limit birthright citizenship. Now, lower courts have 30 days to review their nationwide injunctions and decide if or how they should be narrowed in order to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling.

These states could still decide that a nationwide injunction is appropriate, she said, giving the example of an argument suggesting one was necessary because a person with citizenship in New Jersey could lose that protection if they cross the border into New York.

“It narrowed the path for an injunction, but it didn’t cut it off completely," Ms Schlanger said.

Crucially, at least for now, children born in the US are still citizens, she added.

Let's quickly recap what has happened today with the Supreme Court's ruling.

• The US Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling that curbs judges' powers to block President Donald Trump's orders nationwide
• The case stems from Trump's order to end the constitutional right of birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants
• This will allow Trump's birthright citizenship order to partially go into effect in 30 days - after judges in lower courts had blocked it
• In a sprawling briefing with the media, Trump called the ruling a "big amazing decision". Attorney General Pam Bondi says it will put a stop to "rogue justices" issuing injunctions against the president's agenda.

• In a scathing dissent of the opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor says it is an "open invitation for the government to bypass the Constitution"

• This ruling did not directly tackle the constitutionality of Trump's birthright citizenship order - so the case is likely to end up before the top court at a later date

• For Context: There is a conservative majority in the Supreme Court, and Trump appointed three of the nine justices that decided today's ruling

Robin Levinson King
North America reporter

Margo Schlanger, who teaches at University of Michigan and is the director of the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, slammed the Supreme Court's decision as "a very bad opinion for the rule of law".

She pointed not only to the court's ruling today, which limited lower courts' ability to stop executive overreach, but also its ruling earlier this week, allowing migrants to be deported to third countries, despite a lower court injunction.

What that did, she says, is allow the federal government to ignore lower-court rulings, essentially making the Supreme Court the only check on presidential authority.

Combined, she says the two rulings are "a grab by the Supreme Court to say we are the decider".

“What they both say is we are the only court that matters," she says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Getty Images

Trump's news conference was ostensibly about today's Supreme Court announcement - but it turned into an impromptu press conference, driven in no small part by his good mood.

"I love you," he remarked, smiling to a journalist who called on him to investigate Joe Biden and other members of the previous administration. "That's the best question I've ever had."

Over nearly an hour, he covered a dizzying array of topics, including Iran, tariffs, education, Ukraine and the economy, among others.

It was a classic example of Trump "flooding the zone" with news - reporters to my left and right were furiously typing into their laptops.

He also weaved and deflected at various points during the briefinge, falling back on familiar talking points about immigration and the Biden administration.

Trump has wrapped up his briefing, which lasted about an hour.

It started with a focus on the Supreme Court decision but then covered tariffs, Iran, Africa and other topics. Trump says it's been a great week for his administration and today was a "tremendous win".

He finishes by congratulating Pam Bondi, whom, he says, will go down in history as a "great" attorney general.

President Trump's briefing has been going for more than an hour now. Here are a few highlights:

• In opening remarks, Trump said the decision today was a "monumental victory for the constitution, the separation of powers and the rule of law"
• He said in recent months "radical left judges" have tried to overrule his powers as president, adding nationwide injunctions were a "grave threat to democracy"
• Attorney General Bondi said the decision meant judges won't be able to stop Trump's policies
• On the substantive issue of the constitutionality of Trump's order to ban birthright citizenship, Bondi said she is confident the court will rule in its favour when it comes back from recess in October

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has described the ruling as “a profound and disappointing setback for the families who now face tremendous uncertainty and danger, for the millions of people who rely on the courts to protect their constitutional rights, and for the fundamental rule of law".

New York was among the 19 states that joined the suit against the Trump administration's executive order.

“Every child born on US soil is a citizen of this country, no matter which state they are born in. This has been the law of the land for more than a century," she says.

“This is not over," she says. "While I am confident that our case defending birthright citizenship will ultimately prevail, my heart breaks for the families whose lives may be upended by the uncertainty of this decision.”

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

While the White House and the president celebrate the top court's ruling today, we're looking into what could happen in those 30 days when the birthright citizenship order could go into effect.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, left the door open for states to make the case that a more broad block on Trump's birthright citizenship action is necessary.

That sets up big legal battles to come.

"As the States see it, their harms — financial injuries and the administrative burdens flowing from citizen-dependent benefits programs — cannot be remedied without a blanket ban on the enforcement of the Executive Order," Barrett wrote.

"The lower courts should determine whether a narrower injunction is appropriate, so we leave it to them to consider these and any related arguments."

We're back onto birthright citizenship, which Trump claims without offering evidence that "the cartels have used to get very bad people in".

For context, birthright citizenship refers to the right that almost everyone born on US territory is granted automatic citizenship. Immigration hardliners argue that the policy, external is a "great magnet for illegal immigration".

Image source, Reuters

As the briefing continues, a reporter asks Attorney General Bondi who would vet birthright citizenships, if Trump was to get his way.

She is asked if an undocumented baby would be an enforcement priority.

Bondi says litigation will come in the future. She then pivots to talking about the Biden administration's immigration measures.

As Trump continues to speak, we can bring Vice-President JD Vance's reaction to today's decision.

He says the court's decision is "a huge ruling by the Supreme Court, smacking down the ridiculous process of nationwide injunctions. Under our system, everyone has to follow the law--including judges!"

President Donald Trump celebrates the Supreme Court ruling to curb judges' powers to block the president's executive orders.

What began as a briefing on the Supreme Court decision has now become a wide-ranging Q and A with the president, as it often does.

He is now talking about tariffs. We will be sticking to the Supreme Court news and will let you know when the discussion returns to that decision.

Image source, Getty Images

President Trump is back at the podium taking questions from reporters.

He calls the Supreme Court decision one that's for "common sense".

He says legal cases can get caught up in courts for years, and he has to "act very quickly" to implement his policies.

Journalists are now asking questions.

Bondi is being asked when the ruling on birthright citizenship will be - she says it will be decided in October in the next session of the Supreme Court.

She adds that they are "very confident" in the top court.

The White House will be feeling triumphant this weekpublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 27 June

17:00 BST 27 June

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Getty Images

This is a victory lap for the White House at the end of what they very clearly see as a strong week, starting with the air strikes on Iran and ending with today's decision in the Supreme Court.

Trump's brief initial comments made clear that he sees the decision as having removed an obstacle - and that he now feels more emboldened to carry out his policy objectives.

The mood at the White House is usually fairly serious - but Trump appears to have just shot a smile at reporters.

To his right, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is smiling and nodding. She is sitting near to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi is at the podium now.

She says "rogue justices" will no longer be "striking down" Trump's policies after the Supreme Court's decision.