he U.S. Supreme Court met for over two hours on Tuesday to hear oral arguments on whether the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause bars former president Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot in Colorado and other states because of his role in the
Another line of questioning, from liberal and conservative Justices alike, focused on whether Trump is an"officer of the United States,” which would have implications for whether he could be disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and whether his disqualification would require some further act of Congress.
The Justices decided to consider Trump’s ballot eligibility after Colorado’s top court ruled in December that he is ineligible for a second term because of a rarely-used provision of the Constitution that disqualifies insurrectionists from holding office—Section 3 of the 14th Amendment—which bars those who had taken an oath to “support” the Constitution from holding office if they then"engaged in insurrection or rebellion.