WASHINGTON — A clear majority of the Supreme Court’s nine justices signaled Thursday that they would overturn a Colorado ruling barring former President Donald Trump from the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot.
The former president, 77, and his lawyers were appealing the Dec. 19 decision by Colorado’s Supreme Court that found Trump ineligible for the March 5 GOP contest by virtue of violating the Constitution’s so-called “Insurrection Clause” during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Trump’s team argued separately that Congress — not the states — was tasked with enforcing the clause, that the provision did not apply to the office of president, and that the 45th president did not engage in an insurrection when hundreds of his allies stormed the Capitol and disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
The congressional supremacy argument found the most favor with the court, as Chief Justice John Roberts fretted during oral arguments that upholding the Colorado ruling would open the door to red and blue states removing politicians of opposing parties from the ballot on a whim.
“It’ll come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election. That’s a pretty daunting consequence,” Roberts said.
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The Supreme Court indicates keeping Donald Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential ballot
- A majority of the Supreme Court’s nine justices signaled they will overturn a Colorado ruling that barred Donal Trump from the state’s Republican presidential ballot
- The Supreme Court listened to arguments on whether Donald Trump is disqualified from the 2024 presidential election due to his efforts after losing the 2020 election and his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
- The Colorado Supreme Court previously ruled that Trump incited the Capitol riot and isn’t eligible to be president again, and as a result, should not be on the state’s primary ballot on March 5.
- A decision upholding the Colorado outcome would have the Supreme Court declare that Trump did engage in insurrection and is barred under the 14th Amendment from holding office again.
- Trump’s attorney Jonathan Mitchell argued that Congress is tasked with enforcing the disqualification clause, not the states that run elections.
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