The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday afternoon it will decide whether former President Donald Trump is eligible for Colorado’s Republican primary ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, had ruled Trump ineligible because, justices said, he engaged in insurrection when he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, a violation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The case will be argued Feb. 8. The court will not delay its decision, as Iowa’s Republican caucus is Jan. 15, and New Hampshire’s Republican primary is Jan. 23. Super Tuesday on March 5.
Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado’s Supreme Court disqualified him from the ballot. The state Supreme Court decision is on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court decides it.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War and prohibits people from holding office who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
The Colorado case is one of several emerging in Democrat-run states that are using the 14th Amendment as a way to block Trump from running for office.
