GOP senator: 'I believe we ought to do away with birthright citizenship'

One of Donald Trump's promises for a potential second presidency, includes ending birthright citizenship — which would defy the US Constitution.

During a Senate hearing Thursday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) echoed the former president's sentiment.

"For those of you who've been at the border, you also probably saw what I saw," the Ohio lawmaker said. "There are so many pregnant women, I mean, in their 8th or 9th month. Of course, they come here, and that child is a US citizen. Which, personally, I believe we ought to do away with birthright citizenship."

READ MORE: 'Done a lot of damage': McConnell unleashes on 'sleazeball' Trump and his supporters

Johnson continued, "We are in the minority of countries that grant that. And it's just another magnet to come here. I hope, under a serious administration, deporting criminals will be reasonably easy. But past that point, it's gonna be really difficult. Because of birthright citizenship, are you really gonna separate an infant from their mother and father?"

In a July 2024 report, NBC News noted:

Birthright citizenship has long been understood to be required under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” The language was included in the constitutional amendment enacted after the Civil War to ensure that Black former slaves and their children were recognized as citizens.

The phrase has been generally understood by legal scholars of all ideological stripes to be self-explanatory, but that has not stopped some anti-immigration advocates from pressing an alternative interpretation.

Trump floated the idea of ending birthright citizenship during his presidency, which then-Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan (OH) said the MAGA hopeful "obviously" couldn't do, according to MPR News.

READ MORE: Here’s how a 'radicalized' Michael Flynn 'cashed in' on 'baseless conspiracy theories'

Watch the video below or at this link.