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The Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a major win on the eve of Super Tuesday, allowing his name to appear on the primary ballot in states that have challenged his presidential candidacy.
In an opinion issued Monday, the Court sided with Trump in the 14th Amendment challenge from Colorado, overturning the state Supreme Court's decision that he was ineligible for the ballot because of his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote a concurring opinion to accompany the Court's unanimous ruling. Only two paragraphs long, the opinion had a message for the American people.
"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," she wrote.
The decision came before the biggest primary day of the 2024 election cycle, when voters in 16 states, including Colorado, and one territory will make their choices known. Maine, which was among the three states awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on the validity of Trump's candidacy, is also holding its primary on Tuesday. Illinois, the third state affected by Monday's decision, is not holding its primary until March 19.
"They decided this on the eve of Super Tuesday because they recognize that Americans had a right to know if a candidate on the ballot was an insurrectionist," former U.S. ambassador and special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee Norm Eisen told Newsweek.
Last month, the justices heard oral arguments in the Colorado case and signaled they would rule in favor of Trump as they questioned why individual states should be allowed to determine the eligibility of a national candidate. A decision was not expected until March 15, but a surprise scheduling update on Sunday indicated the ruling would come before Super Tuesday.
"I think that the question that you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States," Justice Elena Kagan, one of the court's three liberal justices, said during the February 8 hearing.
Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told Newsweek that Monday's decision was "no surprise in light of the skepticism the justices displayed during oral argument."
"They say only Congress can enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, not the states, which would result in a patchwork of different decisions," McQuade said. "While it is now the law of the land that only Congress can keep Trump off the ballot, voters still have the power to keep him out of office."
The justices have yet to rule on whether Trump can be prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election—a case they agreed to take up last week. They are also considering a challenge from January 6 defendants that could affect the federal charges against Trump.
Update 3/4/24,11:24 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade.
Update 3/4/24,12:05 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a comment from former U.S. Ambassador Norm Eisen.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more