The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that former President Donald Trump can’t be disqualified from 2024 ballots over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The case stemmed from Colorado’s effort to keep Trump off its ballots, which it justified using a section of the 14th Amendment that bans people who have “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
In its per curiam ruling, the court said that Congress, not the states, has the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against Trump.
“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 with respect to federal offices, especially the presidency,” the justices wrote.
There were no dissents. The court’s three liberal justices wrote a concurring opinion saying that they agree with the outcome but not with all of the arguments offered in the per curiam opinion.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes one day before Super Tuesday, when Republican voters in 15 states, including Colorado, will participate in primary elections.
Monday’s ruling overturns the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling against Trump, and it also blocks other states from using the 14th Amendment to keep the former president off 2024 ballots.
The decision marks the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on how to properly apply Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and the first time since Bush v. Gore in 2000 that the court has played such a significant role in a presidential election.
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear a separate Trump case, which asks whether the former president can face criminal charges over his alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s team argues that he should be immune from prosecution since his actions fell under his official presidential duties and since he has not been impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, according to SCOTUSblog.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the immunity case in late April.