Last Thursday the Supreme Court signaled that it was looking for ways to side with Donald Trump on whether the state of Colorado had the authority to remove a federal candidate from the ballot.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 16: Former U.S. President and current GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the press at Mar-a-Lago on February 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump spoke about a New York judge who ordered him to pay $355 million and barred him from running New York businesses for fraudulently inflating net worth.
On Monday, the Supreme Court did what many observers expected in ruling that Donald Trump can appear on the Colorado ballot, eliminating a major legal threat for Trump that could have potentially prevented him from being reelected as president.
This also affects decisions made in Maine and Illinois that also removed him from the ballot. Trump's lawyers have also argued that it would be "un-American" to have him removed from the ballot.
"We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 concerning federal offices, especially the presidency," the unsigned opinion for the court stated.
This is the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on Donald Trump's actions on January 6, just a day before Super Tuesday, when 16 states and territories will hold their primaries, including Colorado.
Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown also weighed in on some legal arguments raised by Trump and his legal team.
This is the first time that the Supreme Court has weighed in on an issue with the potential to affect the presidency of the United States since it weighed in on Bush v. Gore in 2000, which effectively gave the presidency to Georgie W. Bush.
Though the high court was united in its opinion that Donald Trump should remain on the ballot in Colorado, as well as other states that ruled him ineligible, the justices were divided about how broadly the decision should sweep.
A 5-4 majority stated that no state could remove a federal candidate, but four dissenting justices believed the court should have limited its opinion.
"We cannot join an opinion that decides momentous and difficult issues unnecessarily, and we therefore concur only in the judgment," Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote.
"BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!," Trump posted on social media immediately following the ruling.
