WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court on Thursday appeared likely to reverse a Colorado court’s ruling removing former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
The justices were skeptical that Colorado had the ability to remove a presidential candidate from the ballot, worrying the impact would extend to other states.
Justice Elena Kagan said the voters who challenged Trump’s ballot eligibility had to address why they should get to decide who gets to be president.
“What’s a state doing deciding who other citizens get to vote for for president?” the Obama appointee said.
Chief Justice John Roberts echoed that view. He said endorsing Colorado’s ruling would lead to a slew of challenges to other candidates on the ballot.
“It’ll come down to just a handful of states who are going to decide the presidential election,” the Bush appointee said.
Colorado removed Trump from the ballot using Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars any oath-taking officeholder who rebels against the country from holding office in the future. The clause is said to apply to members of Congress, state legislators, executive and judicial officers, or any officer of the United States.
Trump told the justices that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment does not apply to presidents, who do not take an oath to support the Constitution.
“Officer of the United States refers only to appointed officials and it does not encompass elected officials such as the president or members of Congress,” said Jonathan Mitchell, an attorney with Mitchell Law who represents Trump.
Republican voters kicked off the blockbuster case by suing Colorado’s secretary of state. The voters claimed Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election should disqualify him from holding office again.
After a trial, a state court found Trump had engaged in an insurrection but refused to remove the former president from the ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled to remove Trump from the ballot using Section 3 on appeal.
The Supreme Court agreed to schedule a special hearing to hear arguments from Trump and the Republican Party asking the justices to overturn the state high court ruling.
The voters claim Trump disqualified himself when he led a violent attack on the Capitol and violated his oath to defend the Constitution.
“Section 3 does not give a free pass to insurrectionist former Presidents,” Jason Murray, an attorney with Olson Grimsley representing the voters, wrote in their brief before the court.
The voters say the presidency is a federal office and the natural meaning of an “officer of the United States” is anyone who holds a federal office.
“That plain meaning is confirmed by an opinion of Chief Justice Marshall, by authoritative attorney general opinions interpreting Section 3 at the time, and by consistent nineteenth-century usage of ‘officer of the United States’ to include the President,” Murray wrote. “And given Section 3’s focus on insurrectionist leaders, it would make no sense to read Section 3 as disqualifying all oath-breaking insurrectionists except the one holding the highest office in the land.”
Trump also presented alternative arguments, suggesting that even if Section 3 applied to presidents, he did not engage in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. The former president claims the state court failed to show he participated in any illegal conduct at the Capitol on the day of the riot. Trump argues he instead called for a peaceful demonstration.
A Section 3 disqualification can be removed from a two-thirds vote from Congress. Trump, however, claimed that the state also needed lawmakers’ approval to use Section 3, stating the clause was not self-executing.
The former president also claimed that Section 3 only prohibited insurrectionists from holding office. Trump was removed in the middle of his presidential run.
Colorado has already printed its primary ballots, which include Trump’s name since the state high court ruling was paused while this appeal proceeded. The Supreme Court’s ruling will provide clarity for other states like Maine considering removing Trump from the ballot as well.
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