\n<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> says he is considering \u201ctaking away\u201d the U.S. citizenship of a longtime rival<\/a>, actress and comedian Rosie O\u2019Donnell, despite a decades-old Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits such an action by the government.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the fact that Rosie O\u2019Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,\u201d Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday. He added that O\u2019Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January, should stay in Ireland \u201cif they want her.\u201d<\/p>\n The two have criticized each other publicly for years, an often bitter back-and-forth that predates Trump\u2019s involvement in politics. In recent days, O\u2019Donnell on social media denounced Trump and recent moves by his administration, including the signing of massive GOP-backed tax breaks and spending cuts.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just the latest threat by Trump to revoke the citizenship of people with whom he has publicly disagreed, most recently his former adviser and one-time ally, Elon Musk<\/a>.<\/p>\n But O\u2019Donnell\u2019s situation is notably different from Musk, who was born in South Africa. O\u2019Donnell was born in the United States and has a constitutional right to U.S. citizenship. The U.S. State Department notes on its website<\/a> that U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization may relinquish U.S. nationality by taking certain steps \u2014 but only if the act is performed voluntary and with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship.<\/p>\n Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, noted the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born U.S. citizen,\u201d Frost said in an email Saturday. \u201cIn short, we are a nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell moved to Ireland after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win his second term. She has said she\u2019s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage.<\/p>\n Responding to Trump on Saturday, O\u2019Donnell wrote on social media that she had upset the president and \u201cadd me to the list of people who oppose him at every turn.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n