The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review the Colorado decision blocking Donald Trump from appearing on its state primary ballot, leaving the politically explosive question of whether the former president can be barred from running for office up to the nine justices.
Two states, Colorado and Maine, deemed Trump ineligible to hold office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment after a court found that he had committed an insurrection in his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The Supreme Court will have the final say over whether Trump’s third bid for the White House can continue, landing it squarely in the center of the 2024 presidential election.
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Not since the 2000 election has the court played such an intricate and dramatic role in a presidential election. Trump appointed three of the six conservative justices on the bench. Arguments are set to begin on Feb. 8.
Two Colorado courts found that Trump engaged in insurrection, but only the higher court ruled it ought to prevent him from appearing on its ballot.
Both decisions by Colorado and Maine were put on hold pending Trump’s appeal. Trump has reportedly expressed concern the three justices he appointed could rule against him to appear apolitical.
House Democrats almost immediately urged Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the case, given that his wife attended the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally and urged Arizona lawmakers to overturn the election in favor of Trump.
“Your wife was one of 9 board members for a conservative political group that helped lead the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement, a movement which culminated in the Jan 6 attack,” the letter read.
Maine’s top election official said she had been inundated with death threats and had her home swatted following her decision to punt Trump from the ballot.
Several other states have formally challenged Trump's candidacy, with Illinois becoming the latest state to join the fight this week. Many of the cases have already been dismissed or rejected, however. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump must appear in its primary contest.
