After hearing arguments about whether Colorado should exclude Donald Trump from its ballot, the U.S. Supreme Court justices suggested they might be inclined not to make the decision — and instead leave it up to Congress.
If that happens, some experts say, it could spark a constitutional crisis specifically due to the fact that "Democrats would have to choose between confirming a winner many of them believe is ineligible and defying the will of voters who elected him," writes The Atlantic's Russell Berman.
Colorado has ruled that Trump is not eligible to be on its election ballot, citing the Constitution's 14th Amendment that makes insurrectionists ineligible for public office. A lawsuit in the state claimed Trump's action on Jan. 6, 2020, made him an insurrectionist.
Trump appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, where it remains.
"Their choice could be decisive: As their victory in a House special election in New York this month demonstrated, Democrats have a serious chance of winning a majority in Congress in November, even if Trump recaptures the presidency on the same day," Berman writes.
"If that happens, they could have the votes to prevent him from taking office."
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Berman points out that House Democrats have not committed to confirming a Trump win if SCOTUS does not confirm his eligibility to run.
“That would be a colossal disaster,” Representative Adam Schiff (D) of California told Berman. “We already had one horrendous January 6. We don’t need another.”
Some of Trump's most vocal critics said they would nevertheless vote to certify him if he wins provided SCOTUS rules he's eligible.
“I’m going to follow the law,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) told Berman. “I would not object out of protest of how the Supreme Court comes down. It would be doing what I didn’t like about the January 6 Republicans.”
Read more at The Atlantic.
