2 independent outlets are covering this story, first reported here by Just the News. Verification: Corroborated (how we verify). Every headline links to the original reporting.
President Donald Trump said he will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory. Multiple outlets reported the announcement following his remarks.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 1 d ago, when Just the News reported it. Coverage has since grown to 2 independent outlets. The most recent report came 3 hr ago from WND.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
The question is whether a president can create United States territory by declaration. Under Downes v. Bidwell and Balzac v. Porto Rico, territory held but not headed for statehood is unincorporated, and the Constitution does not apply there of its own force. United States v. Vaello-Madero puts territorial power in Congress under the Territories Clause, so this takes Congress, not a declaration.
Downes v. Bidwell 182 U.S. 244 (1901)
Vote: 5-4 · Opinion: Justice Henry B. Brown (announced the judgment of the Court; no opinion commanded a majority)
Puerto Rico is 'a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States' within the revenue clauses of the Constitution; therefore the Foraker Act's duties on goods shipped from Puerto Rico to the mainland did not violate the Constitution's requirement that 'all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States' (art. I, § 8).
Balzac v. Porto Rico 258 U.S. 298 (1922)
Vote: 9-0 · Opinion: Chief Justice William Howard Taft
The Sixth Amendment jury-trial guarantee (and the Fifth Amendment grand-jury right) does not apply of its own force in Puerto Rico, an UNINCORPORATED territory. 'The Constitution does not, without legislation and of its own force, carry such right to territory so situated.' Chief Justice Taft, writing for a unanimous Court, adopted Justice White's Downes incorporation doctrine as the opinion of the Court: the 1917 Jones Act, which granted Puerto Ricans U.S.
United States v. Vaello-Madero 596 U.S. 159 (2022)
Vote: 8-1 · Opinion: Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh
The Constitution does not require Congress to extend Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to residents of Puerto Rico. Because Congress possesses broad authority under the Territories Clause (art. IV, § 3) to legislate differently for Puerto Rico — and because Puerto Rico residents are exempt from most federal income, gift, estate, and excise taxes — Congress's decision to exclude them from SSI passes rational-basis review under the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The Court (8-1, Kavanaugh) reversed the First Circuit.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
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