'Trump will be rebuked again': Ex-Trump lawyer Ty Cobb predicts SCOTUS birthright citizenship ruling
WASHINGTON, DC: Former White House special counsel and chronic Trump critic Ty Cobb predicted the Supreme Court will "rebuke" President Donald Trump again by rejecting his executive order ending birthright citizenship.
His comments came after Trump experienced a mixed day at the Supreme Court, with several rulings going against positions he supported. Cobb argued those decisions showed the justices were acting independently rather than delivering victories Trump expected.
Ty Cobb says Trump expects judicial loyalty
Speaking with CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday, May 29, Cobb said Trump views the Supreme Court through a transactional lens and expects justices he appointed to rule in his favor.
Burnett noted that Trump was frustrated after setbacks in a mail-in ballot case and another involving Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. She added that Trump believes he "stacked" the Supreme Court with people who would side with him.
Cobb agreed with that assessment.
"Trump views this very transactionally — they're his people, they should vote his way. I mean that's his view of the world," he said.
Instead, Cobb argued that Chief Justice John Roberts and several conservative colleagues chose to "call balls and strikes," echoing Roberts' well-known confirmation hearing remark, and "hold the center" in both the Mississippi case and the Federal Reserve dispute.
Ty Cobb praises Amy Coney Barrett's ruling
Cobb also defended Justice Amy Coney Barrett after criticism from some of Trump's allies over her opinion in the Mississippi ballot case.
"Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the Mississippi ballot case, is a conservative; she is a strong conservative, but she's also an intellectually honest person," Cobb said.
"And she wrote the decision in the way that she actually believes," he said.
He added that he knew "they're livid about that," saying Steve Bannon had criticized Barrett and that Trump was also angry over the ruling.
"But the reality is she did her job, and she should be proud of that," Cobb said.
Birthright citizenship ruling should be unanimous
Looking ahead to the court's remaining decisions, Cobb said he expected another defeat for Trump.
"I would expect that Trump will be rebuked again on birthright citizenship," he said.
Cobb called the case "obvious" and said the ruling "should be unanimous," although he suggested Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas could still side with Trump.
He added that other pending cases involving transgender athletes and campaign finance could ultimately favor the president.
Even so, Cobb singled out the birthright citizenship dispute as uniquely significant, saying, "On birthright citizenship, which I think is at the fundamental core of what it is to be an American, I think that the country will be proud tomorrow of the Supreme Court."
