Trump to attend Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship appeal

US President Donald Trump said he plans to attend Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing as justices consider his administration's appeal defending an executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

If he appears in person, Trump would become the first sitting US president to observe oral arguments at the Supreme Court, NPR reported on Tuesday.

The order, signed on the first day of his second term, declares that children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily would not automatically receive citizenship, challenging longstanding interpretations of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump confirmed his intention to attend. "I'm going," he said, adding when asked if he would appear in person: "I think so, I do believe."

Trump, who appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, also commented on the court's ideological divisions, saying: "I love a few of them … I don't like some others."

Lower courts have blocked the citizenship restrictions from taking effect nationwide. A final ruling from the Supreme Court is expected by early summer.