The Colorado State Supreme Court's attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the ballot is facing scrutiny in the United States Supreme Court. During the two-hour oral arguments held yesterday, the petitioners from Colorado argued that Trump should be disqualified from holding public office due to his actions on January 6th, 2021. However, the U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned whether the relevant clause in the Constitution applies to the role of the president.
The argument presented by the petitioners was rooted in a Civil War clause meant to prevent former Confederates from running for office. The clause states that 'no person shall hold any office under the United States who having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress or as an officer of the United States to support the Constitution of the United States shall have engaged in an insurrection.' The justices honed in on the fact that the language does not explicitly mention the president and expressed skepticism about construing it against democracy.
