Rachel Maddow Rips Trump’s Reported Move to End Birthright Citizenship: ‘Executive Orders Cannot Override The Constitution!’

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow tore into incoming President Donald Trump on Monday ahead of his swearing-in over reports that one of his first moves will be to sign an order ending birthright citizenship.

As VIPs entered the U.S. Capitol for the inauguration, Maddow reported on some of the day’s expected news, saying it was likely the “Republican-controlled Senate will confirm at least one of Trump’s nominees. There’s a possibility that Marco Rubio will be confirmed today as secretary of state.”

“Incoming President Trump has said he will sign dozens of executive orders and executive actions about energy and the border and discriminating against transgender people and making it easier to fire federal workers and stopping the ban on TikTok. Even though that ban is actually law and executive orders can’t supersede the law,” she continued as she then pointed out famous faces filing in.

“Former House Speaker John Boehner, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, his wife Ambassador Callista Gingrich excuse me,” Maddow noted, before turning back to the executive orders:

Trump’s aides have also said that Trump will sign some sort of executive action or order today to stop birthright citizenship. Now, birthright citizenship is the core American precept that says if you’re born here, if were born on American soil, you’re a US citizen. That is a provision that is explicitly in the Constitution and the plain language of the 14th Amendment.

But Trump today will reportedly try to abolish it with an executive order, even though executive orders can’t override the Constitution, just as executive orders cannot override the law. But if you needed a theme. That is how we are expecting the second presidential administration of Donald J. Trump to get underway today. Here we go. See some of that? Is that Tim Cook? Apple CEO there.

Maddow then turned to her co-host Chris Hayes and asked, “As you are watching these folks file in not just appointees, but also all the richest people in the country and all the people in charge of the most important tech companies in the country. I know the word unprecedented is banned at this desk, but how else do you feel?”

Watch above via MSNBC.