Republicans Pull Trigger on Plan to Remove Joe Biden From Ballots

Republican lawmakers in three swing states have announced their plan to remove President Joe Biden from their state ballots.

Aaron Bernstine of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Cory McGarr of the Arizona House of Representatives and Charlice Byrd of the Georgia House of Representatives released a joint statement on Thursday announcing their plan to remove Biden from the 2024 general election ballots in those three states.

Newsweek reached out to Bernstine, McGarr and Byrd via email and phone, as well as the White House and Biden's campaign via email for comment.

The move comes in the wake of the Colorado Supreme Court's 4-3 decision that former President Donald Trump, who is the GOP front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination, would be barred from the state's primary ballot. The ruling cited the 14th Amendment, which bans U.S. officials who take an oath to uphold the Constitution from holding office in the future if they engage in insurrection. The court believed that Trump could not hold office again because of his involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

Trump is also facing federal criminal charges in Washington, D.C., for his alleged role in the riot, which took place on January 6, 2021. That day, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol while Congress was attempting to certify Biden's 2020 win. The riot erupted after Trump made baseless claims that the election was stolen via widespread voter fraud. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the D.C. case and called it politically motivated.

The three Republican lawmakers argued on Thursday that if Trump can be barred from a state ballot, then his likely opponent, Biden, should get the same treatment.

"Today, we are joining forces to introduce legislation to REMOVE Joe Biden from the ballot in Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania," the lawmakers said in a press release obtained by Newsweek.

"The absurdity of radical Democrat judges removing Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado will be a stain on the American political system for decades. By their very own interpretation of the law, Joe Biden is 100% not eligible to run for political office," the press release read. "Democrats' insane justification to remove Trump can just as easily be applied to Joe Biden for his 'insurrection' at the southern border and his alleged corrupt family business dealings with China."

Biden has been criticized for the massive influx of migrants coming in illegally through the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans believe in tougher immigration policy to secure the border and curb the number of undocumented immigrants flooding into the U.S.

The president has also been under scrutiny by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that has been leading an impeachment inquiry into Biden. Biden has been accused of being involved in and benefiting from his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. The White House has repeatedly denied Biden ever being involved in his son's dealings and the president has called the inquiry a "baseless political stunt."

The Republican lawmakers concluded in their press release: "Colorado radicals just changed the game and we are not going to sit quietly while they destroy our Republic. To be clear, our objective is to showcase the absurdity of Colorado's decision and allow ALL candidates to be on the ballot in all states. To do that, we must fight back as Republicans against the communists currently running our great country."

While passing legislation to remove Biden from the ballot is a long shot, the odds are worse in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, which has a slim Democratic majority.