Trump’s legal team asked the Supreme Court to consider whether Colorado can constitutionally disqualify the former president from its Republican primary.
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue of whether Donald Trump can constitutionally be banned from Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the state’s Republican primary on Dec. 19, a decision Trump’s legal team appealed. Ultimately, the Supreme Court determined it will weigh in on whether Trump qualifies for the race, The Hill reported on Friday. Oral arguments are scheduled for Feb. 8
“We welcome a fair hearing at the Supreme Court to argue against the bad-faith, election-interfering, voter-suppressing, Democrat-backed and Biden-led, 14th Amendment abusing decision to remove President Trump’s name from the 2024 ballot in the state of Colorado,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, per The Hill.
The decision to remove the former president from the ballot was based on Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which disqualifies individuals who have “previously sworn an oath to support the Constitution” and have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from office.
“A majority of the court holds that [former] President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate of the presidential primary ballot,” the state Supreme Court said in its opinion issued in December.
The court noted that its decision would stay until Jan. 4, a day before the state’s ballot certification deadline for the March 5 presidential primary election.
The 4-3 decision by Colorado’s highest court was the first time the constitutional clause was used to disqualify a presidential candidate, per the Associated Press. It overturns a November ruling from District Judge Sarah B. Wallace, which allowed Trump to stay on the state’s ballot but determined he “engaged in insurrection” when he urged supporters on during the deadly January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“President Trump contends that his speech on January 6 was protected by the First Amendment and therefore, cannot be used to justify his disqualification from office under Section Three. The district court concluded that his speech was unprotected by the First Amendment. We agree with the district court,” the Colorado Supreme Court wrote in its opinion.
Similar cases challenging Trump’s candidacy have been filed in several other states, including Michigan and Minnesota.
