The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that Donald Trump can remain on the ballot in Colorado, handing the former president a landmark legal victory in his quest to return to the White House.
It was a fatal blow to a group of states trying to keep Trump from the election, and it came just 24 hours before voting in 15 states on Super Tuesday.
In an immediate response, Trump declared on his Truth Social network: “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!”
He reportedly called the verdict “unifying” and “inspirational.”
The conservative-majority court's 9-0 decision in the high-stakes case means the Republican front-runner's name will appear on the ballot in Colorado's Republican primary tomorrow.
This also effectively ends efforts in other states, including Illinois and Maine, to bar him from running in the 2024 general election over allegations that his behavior on January 6, 2021, amounted to an “insurrection.”
The former president, 77, has now overcome one of the biggest hurdles in his campaign before he is expected to face President Joe Biden again in November's general election.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Donald Trump can remain on the ballot. This is a fatal blow to the states seeking to scrap it, and comes just 24 hours before 15 states vote for Super Tuesday
Anti-Trump demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court before the court decided whether former U.S. President Donald Trump is eligible to run in the 2024 presidential election on February 8, 2024 in Washington, DC
The conservative-majority court's decision means the Republican front-runner's name will appear on the ballot in Colorado's primary
The justices overturned an earlier ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court that had barred Trump from voting in that state.
Colorado ruled that Trump was barred under the so-called “Insurrection Clause” — Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Civil War-era amendment bars those who participated in the “insurrection” from holding federal office.
In a 20-page ruling, U.S. Supreme Court justices said only Congress can decide whether Trump can run or not.
“States may not unilaterally exclude Donald Trump from the election,” the ruling said. “The Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling is reversed.”
“The responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officials and candidates rests with Congress, not the states.” The Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling therefore cannot stand. All nine members of the court agree with this result.”
The justices added: “Because the Constitution makes Congress, not the states, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officials and candidates, we reverse.”
“There is nothing in the Constitution that requires us to endure such chaos.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally on March 2, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold asked the Supreme Court to keep Trump off the ballot so that “votes are not wasted on ineligible candidates.”
Members of the media set up their work area outside the U.S. Supreme Court as judges hear arguments in former U.S. President Donald Trump's appeal of a lower court ruling barring him from the presidential election in Colorado, February 8, 2024, in Washington, U.S
The ruling continues: “This case raises the question of whether the states may enforce Section 3 alongside Congress. We conclude that states may disqualify individuals who hold or attempt to hold state office.”
“But states do not have the authority under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, particularly the presidency.”
The justices also warned against pursuing the insurrection clause after the election.
They wrote: “The disruption would be all the worse – and could overturn the votes of millions and change the outcome of the election – if enforcement of Section 3 were attempted after the nation has voted.”
The Supreme Court agreed that Donald Trump will remain on the ballot in Colorado and that the state cannot unilaterally exclude him from the ballot.
However, the justices were divided over how broadly the decision would apply.
A slim 5-4 majority said no state could bar a federal candidate from the ballot – with four justices claiming the court should have limited its opinion.
Trump has dominated the Republican primaries so far, with his final rival, Nikki Haley, only winning a contest in Washington DC on Sunday evening that drew just over 2,000 voters.
As Haley celebrated the victory, the Supreme Court issued a surprise update saying the opinions would be released Monday, just 24 hours before Colorado goes to the polls in the GOP primary.
Colorado, Illinois and Maine's decisions to expel Trump were based on the argument that he violated the 14th Amendment by “engaging in insurrection or rebellion” on January 6, 2021.
Trump challenged the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling, which led to Monday's decision.
Voting in the state of Colorado began in February, as 831,705 voters had already cast their ballots, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Trump's name remained on the ballot until the Supreme Court's ruling.
The Supreme Court's decision effectively ends legal efforts by left-wing activists across the country to remove Trump from the ballot in various states, with the aim of preventing him from running a successful presidential campaign in 2024.
The Colorado lawsuit was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Students walk past the U.S. Supreme Court on the day the justices unanimously ruled that the Insurrection Clause of the 14th Amendment will not prevent former President Trump from appearing on Colorado's ballot
The court's justices expressed skepticism during oral arguments in February that Trump could be prevented from enforcing the Constitution
They argued that Trump was guilty of insurrection because he incited the riots on Capitol Hill on January 6 to protest the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has persistently urged the US highest court to keep Trump from the vote.
In a statement on Supreme Court filings in January, she called the presidential candidate an “unelectable insurrectionist.”
She added that it is her duty to protect the “maximum disenfranchisement” of Colorado’s voting rights.
Her responsibility, she added, is to ensure that “votes are not wasted on ineligible candidates.”
Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism at oral arguments in February that Trump could be barred from running.
They pointed out at the time that states did not have the legal authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, citing the danger of a state deciding who could be president of the United States.
Three of the justices – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – were nominated by Trump.