Donald Trump on Wednesday appealed the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling with the US Supreme Court to prevent the state from removing him from the March 5 GOP primary ballot, CBS News reported.
The former president’s request comes a week after the Colorado Republican Party filed a similar appeal to the Court to overturn the state Supreme Court ruling to disqualify Trump based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
While the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on the state ballot, it also paused implementation of its decision until the Supreme Court could weigh in on any appeal, allowing Trump’s name to remain on the primary ballot for the time being.
Following the state Republican Party’s appeal, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Trump’s name would stay on the March 5 primary ballot unless the Supreme Court either refuses to hear the appeal or upholds the lower court’s ruling.
In their January 3 request to the Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers maintained that the Colorado Supreme Court did not have the authority to remove the former president’s name from the state ballot, arguing that the question of eligibility was up to the US Congress and not the state courts.
The Supreme Court has never heard a case related to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment which bars those who engage in insurrection while sworn office-holders from seeking office again.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the provision applied to Trump because of his role in the January 6 Capitol riot. The court determined that Trump was ineligible to run in the GOP primary or the 2024 General Election in the state of Colorado.
According to the Associated Press, attorneys both for the Colorado Republican Party and Donald Trump have asked the Supreme Court to quickly move on the appeal.
While the Colorado GOP urged for oral arguments in the case, Trump’s attorneys requested that the Supreme Court skip oral arguments and swiftly render a ruling on the matter.
