ETX lawmakers react to high court rulings
Posted/updated on: July 1, 2026 at 4:23 pm
EAST TEXAS – The U.S. Supreme Court made several monumental rulings on Tuesday, inciting mixed reactions from East Texas politicians and Gov. Greg Abbott as decisions on transgender and birthright citizenship issues were handed down, according to our news partner KETK.
Two of the rulings made by the Supreme Court that caught the attention of East Texans included the decision to uphold state laws preventing transgender women from playing on school athletic teams and striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.
In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that states may continue to uphold bans on transgender girls from competing on girls and women’s school sports teams, after findin that banning transgender women from school athletics does not violate Ttle IX, according to a report from The Hill.
“States may maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females to address safety and competitive fairness concerns,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote. “The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women’s and girls’ sports throughout America.”
Abbott and several East Texas politicians praised the Supreme Court’s decision, claiming the ruling preserves the integrity of athletics while also protecting athletes.
“Huge win at the Supreme Court for girls’ sports,” Abbott said. “In Texas, we’ve been clear: no boys in girls’ sports. This is a win for women, for truth and for the common sense our nation was founded on.”
East Texas State Representative Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, also praised the ruling, emphasizing that the decision is a “win for Texas and a win for fairness.”
“Texas took action to protect girls’ and women’s sports, and today’s Supreme Court ruling ensures those protections remain on solid constitutional ground,” Hefner said. “Our daughters deserve the opportunity to compete on a level playing field, and we’ll keep fighting to protect that.”
Texas State Sen. Bryan Hughes commended the ruling, stating the decision protects all female athletes and their privacy.
“The Supreme Court just affirmed what Texas law has already made clear: boys do not belong in girls’ sports or their private spaces,” Hughes said. “This is a victory for women all across the country.”
While the Supreme Court’s decision to keep transgender women out of school athletics was met with praise from local politicians and Abbott, the decision to uphold birthright citizenship received a negative response.
By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court struck down an executive order from Trump that would have declared children born to people who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily are not American citizens, the Associated Press reported.
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.”
Abbott expressed his disappointment with the ruling, stating that American citizenship should not automatically extend to children whose parents entered the country illegally or only temporarily.
“Birthright citizenship has become a powerful magnet for illegal immigration that will forever change our nation if left unaddressed,” Abbott said.
“Automatic citizenship for children born to parents in the United States illegally or only temporarily is an absurdity that was never contemplated by our Constitution nor agreed to by the American people.”
East Texas State Representative Pat Fallon also condemned the ruling, stating he believes the decision devalues what it means to be an American citizen.
“SCOTUS has delivered many rulings recently that have correctly reaffirmed the intent of our Constitution, but I do not agree with the majority opinion today on the question of birthright citizenship,” Fallon said. “Unlike those on the left, I oppose efforts to undermine and delegitimize SCOTUS. We in Congress must do our job.”
