The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday as former President Donald Trump challenges a Colorado ruling that kicked him off the ballot under the 14th Amendment for being an “insurrectionist”—a landmark case that threatens to upend the 2024 election, though it remains to be seen how the court will rule.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, ... [+]
The Supreme Court will hear Trump v. Anderson, a case brought against Trump by Colorado voters and left-leaning watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that aims to disqualify Trump from the ballot under section three of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits people from holding public office who have taken an oath of office and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [U.S.], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
The Colorado Supreme Court became the first court in the country to rule Trump should be disqualified from the ballot based on his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, which Trump then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Justices will decide whether to uphold or strike down the Colorado ruling, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll narrowly decide that case, or issue a more sweeping ruling that would also affect other cases that have been brought across the country challenging Trump’s candidacy.
Trump’s lawyers have argued he shouldn’t be disqualified, claiming the presidency doesn’t count as an “officer of the United States” covered by the amendment, that he can’t be disqualified without Congress passing a law authorizing it first, and that he did not engage in an insurrection.
It’s unclear when the Supreme Court will rule in the case. While it is certain to be before the court’s term wraps up in June, it remains to be seen whether justices will issue their decision sooner, given the urgency of resolving whether Trump’s name can be on the GOP primary ballot. Colorado’s primary election is set to take place on March 5. The court’s ruling is also expected to have knock-on effects in other states. A court in Maine—the only other state to have so far disqualified Trump from the ballot—said they’re waiting to see how the high court rules before moving forward with Trump’s appeal, and more than a dozen states still have 14th Amendment cases pending or being appealed that could be affected, based on a tracker compiled by Lawfare. Courts in another five states have already thrown out 14th Amendment challenges, but plaintiffs could try to bring cases again if the high court rules against Trump.
How the court will rule—and what the consequences of their ruling could be. Many legal experts have said they believe that Trump’s disqualification under the 14th Amendment would be legally sound, though they feel it’s less likely the 6-3 conservative court will actually take the explosive step of kicking Trump off the ballot. If they do, experts cited by Politico warned of the likelihood that political violence by Trump’s supporters could ensue, though other legal experts said that upholding the 14th Amendment is still necessary to preserve democracy. It’s also possible the court could issue a narrow ruling that keeps Trump on the ballot without declaring him an “insurrectionist”—or is just based on Colorado law and thus won’t apply to other states—such as by saying presidents don’t count under the 14th Amendment, kicking the issue over to Congress or saying it’s too soon to decide Trump’s eligibility before the general election.
Before he ascended to the Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch—then a federal appeals court judge—actually already ruled that states can kick candidates off the ballot, which the Colorado Supreme Court cited in its decision disqualifying Trump. “As then-Judge Gorsuch recognized in [a previous case], it is ‘a state’s legitimate interest in protecting the integrity and practical functioning of the political process’ that ‘permits it to exclude from the ballot candidates who are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office,’” the Colorado court’s majority wrote in its ruling, referencing Gorsuch ruling against a naturalized U.S. citizen who wanted to run for president.
Section three of the 14th Amendment dates back to the aftermath of the Civil War, and was initially aimed at blocking former Confederates from holding office. The once-obscure provision gained attention in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, and was previously deployed in the 2022 midterms as advocacy groups unsuccessfully sought to keep Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) off the ballot, as well as Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), whose case was mooted when he lost his primary election. Critics did succeed at removing New Mexico commissioner Couy Griffin from office, however, which marked the first time the 14th Amendment had been used to remove someone since 1869. The 14th Amendment then gained steam against Trump as the 2024 election has drawn nearer and Trump has faced multiple criminal indictments for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and the idea gained bipartisan support when conservative legal scholars published an article that argued for Trump’s disqualification. While lawsuits challenging Trump’s candidacy popped up across the country, the Colorado Supreme Court was the first to actually rule against Trump, after judges in such other states as Minnesota and Michigan refused to do so. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) then followed in disqualifying Trump from the ballot under that state’s law.
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