A Republican senator tried to end dual citizenship, but somehow placed Melania Trump and her son Barron in the firing line.Both the first lady and the president’s youngest child got into a debate that was not meant to involve them.MAGA ally Bernie Moreno of Ohio is preparing to introduce legislation that would require all Americans to declare an exclusive allegiance to the United States. His proposal is called the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025. It aims to abolish dual nationality entirely. However, the senator did not realise that the change would affect Melania and Barron, who both hold Slovenian and American citizenship.Moreno was born in Colombia and has since renounced his Colombian nationality. He has framed the proposal as a matter of loyalty.Speaking to Fox News, he said becoming a citizen had been a defining moment in his life. “One of the greatest honours of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so,” he said. “It was an honour to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and only to the United States of America. Being an American citizen is an honour and a privilege and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good.”
About Melania’s citizenship
Melania was born in Slovenia and naturalised as a United States citizen in 2006. She remains the only first lady to have done so. In her 2024 book The Art of Her Deal, journalist Mary Jordan reported that both Melania and Barron have kept their Slovenian passports, reports the Daily Beast. Jordan explained that Melania had filed the necessary paperwork herself because Barron did not receive Slovenian citizenship automatically. “She did that to give her son options,” Jordan said. She added that a Slovenian passport made it easier for him to work, study and inherit property in Europe.
What is the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025?
Under Moreno’s plan, dual citizens would have one year to renounce any foreign nationality or lose their American citizenship. Enforcement would fall to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would monitor dual nationals using a new tracking system.Currently, Americans can hold more than one citizenship without being forced to choose. Moreno argues that this creates “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.”
