A Supreme Court notice on Sunday is sparking questions about a possible ruling in Donald Trump's Colorado ballot eligibility case.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, faces legal challenges that seek to remove him from the ballot in several states based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
In a Sunday post on X, formerly Twitter, Lawrence Hurley, a Supreme Court reporter for NBC News, noted that the Supreme Court website has a notice for Monday, which states that the court will release an order list and that the court "may announce opinions on the homepage. The notice also states that the "court will not take the bench."
Any opinions will be posted on the court's website beginning just after 10 a.m. EST Monday.
Hurley stated that this notice signals there will likely be a ruling in Trump's ballot eligibility case, adding that it will be unusual as the justices will not be in the courtroom to announce a ruling.
"The Supreme Court website is now saying there will be rulings tomorrow. With Colorado's primary taking place on Tuesday, it would seem quite likely that they will decide the Trump ballot eligibility case," Hurley wrote on X with an image of the notice.
"Tomorrow is not a normally scheduled day for rulings so one unusual element will be that the justices will not be in the courtroom to announce them," Hurley added.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email and the Supreme Court via an online form for comment.
The former president has been kicked off ballots in Maine and Colorado because of the same constitutional amendment.
However, the removal of Trump from the primary ballot in the two states is now in the hands of the Supreme Court after the former president appealed both the state's decisions. In early February, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case as legal experts are doubtful that the high court will uphold the state's ruling.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a Civil War-era clause, states that a person who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" after taking an oath to uphold the Constitution is barred from running for office again.
Legal challenges to Trump's candidacy have homed in on his actions connected to the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol. Trump has maintained his innocence and said that he did not engage in an insurrection, accusing those filing lawsuits against him of attempting election interference.
The former president has been kicked off ballots in Maine and Colorado because of the same constitutional amendment. However, the removal of Trump from the primary ballot in the two states is now in the hands of the Supreme Court after the former president appealed both the state's decisions. In early February, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case as legal experts are doubtful that the high court will uphold the state's ruling.
This potential ruling in the case comes one day before Trump and Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley are set to compete in the busiest day of the primary season, with more than a dozen states holding races on Super Tuesday to decide on the next Republican presidential nominee.
Trump has already cemented his position as the clear favorite to clinch the 2024 GOP nomination, following resounding victories in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan.
Haley, a former United Nations ambassador, has dismissed calls that she should drop out of the race after failing to win any of the previous primary elections, including in her home state of South Carolina. She said her campaign is focusing on Super Tuesday.
The potential ruling also comes after an Illinois judge ruled in late February that Trump is barred from appearing on the state's primary ballot this month based on the same "insurrection clause" of the 14th Amendment.
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter heavily relied on Colorado Supreme Court's ruling regarding Trump's candidacy in her decision, writing that the court's reasoning was "compelling."
However, Trump and his campaign have bashed decisions to remove him from the 2024 ballot in the past.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung in December said in a statement that Colorado's ruling to ban Trump was a "left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
