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President Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, challenging the 14th Amendment, has brought lawyer John Sauer to the forefront. Sauer, a seasoned litigator with a distinguished career, is now leading the administration's defense of an executive order aiming to exclude children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors from citizenship, arguing they are not fully under U.S. jurisdiction.
President Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship has ignited one of the boldest legal battles in recent US history. Through an executive order, he is challenging a core promise of the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to anyone born on American soil, regardless of their parents’ status.The move aims to exclude children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors, arguing they are not fully under US “jurisdiction.”Amid this ongoing battle, John Sauer has stepped into the spotlight as one of Trump’s most trusted lawyers.
Who is John Sauer?
John Sauer has served as the 49th US Solicitor General since April 4, 2025, under President Trump, after Senate confirmation by a 52–45 vote. Before that, he was Missouri’s Solicitor General from 2017 to 2023, handling key appeals on constitutional issues.Born on November 13, 1974, in St. Louis, Sauer attended Saint Louis Priory School and graduated from Duke University in 1997 with degrees in philosophy and electrical engineering.
John Sauer - (Photo via Centre for Reproductive Rigts)
A Rhodes Scholar, he earned a theology degree from University of Oxford’s Oriel College in 1999, followed by a philosophy master’s from University of Notre Dame in 2000, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2004, where he edited the Harvard Law Review.
Early in his career, he clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig and Justice Antonin Scalia from 2004 to 2006. He later worked as a federal prosecutor in Missouri’s Eastern District, practised at firms like Cooper & Kirk, and founded the James Otis Law Group.
Why is Sauer in the limelight for Trump’s case?
Sauer gained national attention representing Trump in the 2024 case Trump v. United States, where he argued for broad presidential immunity for official acts before the Supreme Court.In 2020, as Missouri Solicitor General, he also signed a multistate motion challenging election results in key states, aligning with efforts to intervene in Texas v. Pennsylvania.
Leading the birthright citizenship fight
Sauer is now heading the Trump administration’s defence of an executive order limiting birthright citizenship. He has argued before the Supreme Court of the United States that the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause does not cover children of undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors.According to him, such individuals lack full “jurisdiction” or “direct and immediate allegiance” to the US - an interpretation he says was originally meant mainly for freed slaves post-Civil War, as cited in reports.According to court coverage, Sauer stated, “Unrestricted birthright citizenship contradicts the practice of the overwhelming majority of modern nations.” He added, “It demeans the priceless and profound gift of American citizenship,” framing the move as a correction to outdated views.
English (US) ·