Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a former constitutional law professor, said he believes the Supreme Court will allow former President Trump to be on the Colorado ballot, but it may be up to Congress to decide.
Colorado’s highest court kicked Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot under the 14th Amendment in a 4-3 ruling Tuesday, affirming that he engaged in insurrection by enraging his supporters and directing them to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The controversial decision will likely head to the Supreme Court, where Raskin told The Washington Post he thinks the argument to keep Trump on the ballot lies in the text of the amendment.
Raskin said that he agreed with the Colorado court’s ruling that Jan. 6 was an insurrection and that Trump was engaged in it.
The Maryland lawmaker predicts the Supreme Court will “gather around the idea that this is not a fit matter for the court to decide and it’s really up to Congress.”
“I suspect that is where Trump’s supporters will congregate,” he added.
Raskin, who served as the impeachment manager for Trump’s second impeachment, was referring to a line in the third section of the 14th Amendment that states that “Congress may by a vote of two-third of each House, remove such disability.”
The Colorado ruling argues that inciting an insurrection is subject to traditional judicial decision-making, Raskin noted.
He said that he believes the conservative justices will “undoubtedly argue” that the two-third requirement for overruling disqualification “indicates that it’s within congressional control exclusively.”
“I assume that they are going to figure out what they think their best target is and then focus on that,” he told the Post. “A kitchen-sink approach doesn’t help them too much here.”
A kitchen-sink approach, he added, risks the justices “flailing about, just trying to throw a bunch of Hail Marys”
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