The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that states do not have the authority to remove Donald Trump from the ballot under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, which was written to prevent Civil War Confederates from returning to government. The court’s ruling came after the state of Colorado attempted to take Trump off the primary ballot over his actions inciting the January 6 insurrection. In the majority opinion, justices wrote, “States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.” The court’s three liberal justices issued a concurring opinion warning that the majority ruling “attempts to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding federal office.”
