The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday prohibited states from disqualifying federal candidates based on a constitutional provision related to insurrection.
The ruling handed former President Donald Trump a pivotal win on Monday in his bid to reclaim the presidency
This reversal nullified a previous decision that had excluded Mr Trump from Colorado’s ballot, citing the 14th Amendment.
Despite unanimous agreement among the justices, concerns were voiced, with some, including conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, noting the opinion’s broader scope.
“We cannot join an opinion that decides momentous and difficult issues unnecessarily, and we therefore concur only in the judgment,” liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote.
“In my judgment, this is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency. The court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a presidential election. Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the court should turn the national temperature down, not up,” Barrett wrote.
“For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home,” Barrett added.
The ruling coincided with Super Tuesday in the U.S. presidential primary cycle.
Trump swiftly celebrated on social media, highlighting the decision’s magnitude.
The court clarified that only Congress has the authority to enforce the 14th Amendment’s Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates.
This swift resolution contrasted with the slower pace of Trump’s immunity bid in a separate federal case.
The Colorado dispute, filed by voters portraying Trump as a threat to democracy, was expedited to secure his candidacy’s presence on all state ballots.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority, including three Trump appointees, played a pivotal role reminiscent of the Bush v. Gore case in 2000.
