The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will decide whether Former President Donald Trump is eligible to run for president in a historic hearing set for February.
Following the decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to remove him from ballots in December 2023, SCOTUS has decided to take up Trump’s appeal against this decision.
The Supreme Court’s ruling will apply nationwide.
In a number of states – such as Michigan and Minnesota – there have been lawsuits to remove Trump from ballots, arguing that he engaged in insurrection during the US Capital riot on 6 January 2021.
These lawsuits cite the 14th amendment of the US Constitution as the basis for this removal, which bans anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office.
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This amendment was applied for the first time ever to disqualify Trump from Colorado ballots and this is the first time the US Supreme Court will consider how to interpret the clause.
However, Trump’s lawyers have argued that this amendment does not apply to the role of president, further stating:
“The Colorado Supreme Court decision would unconstitutionally disenfranchise millions of voters in Colorado and likely be used as a template to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters nationwide.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the appeal comes after the attorneys general from 27 states filed a brief requesting that the court reject Colorado’s ruling.
Currently, the US Supreme Court has a six to three Republican-appointed majority, including three justices who were appointed by Trump while he was president.
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However, in lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court overwhelmingly ruled against Trump.
The case will likely be fast-tracked to issue a ruling ahead of the Super Tuesday primary election in March, when many states (including Colorado) are set to hold elections to decide on each party’s presidential candidate.
Trump’s team must file their opening brief by 18 January, this will be followed by oral arguments which are set to be held on 8 February.
As it stands, Trump is the biggest contender for the Republican nomination, currently leading the polls with 61.8% of votes.
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Trump faces additional barriers to office, currently accused of 91 counts of felony across four different criminal cases.
One of the cases is the alleged election subversion in Georgia, the case is centered around Trump allegedly asking former Secretary Of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780” votes in the state.
Other accusations include: fraudulently underreporting the value of his properties to lower his tax bill, sexual assault against writer E. Jean Carroll, the unlawful removal of documents from the White House to his ‘Mar-a-Lago’ property and the paying of hush money to cover up an affair.
Calling them politically motivated “witch hunts” by the Democrats, Trump has denied every accusation in each of the pending criminal cases.
“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.