Democratic lawmakers voice support for Colorado court’s ruling on Trump

Democratic lawmakers voiced their support Tuesday for a ruling from Colorado’s Supreme Court to remove former President Trump from the state’s Republican primary ballot under the 14th Amendment.

Colorado’s highest court ruled 4-3 to affirm that Trump engaged in insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and directing them to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The court said the former president is prevented from a second White House term under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause.”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), an impeachment manager in the second impeachment case against Trump centered on Jan. 6, said he was “pleased” to hear about the ruling.

“The Court appropriately held that Trump is disqualified from being [on] the ballot,” Lieu said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “[As] an impeachment manager, it was very clear to me that the evidence showed Trump called for and incited the mob on January 6.”

Lieu’s West Coast colleague Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) also expressed her support for Colorado’s ruling.

“Good,” Jayapal said in a post on X. “The former President incited an attack on our democracy and there should absolutely be consequences.”

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) concurred with his state’s high court’s decision in his own X post, saying it was “right.”

“The Constitution protects the right to vote and bars candidates who abuse the process or engage in insurrection,” Crow said. “Donald Trump has done both.”

The Democratic lawmakers’ reaction to the Colorado ruling contrasts sharply with their Republican colleagues. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called it “nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack.”

“Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president and the individual who is the leader in every poll of the Republican primary,” Johnson wrote in a statement, adding he trusts the U.S. Supreme Court will “set aside this reckless decision and let the American people decide the next president of the United States.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was censured earlier this year via a Republican led-push for his own efforts against the former president, called the ruling “[a]ccountability for inciting an insurrection.”

“It’s about time,” Schiff said in a post on X.

The Colorado Supreme Court put its ruling on hold until Jan. 4, so Trump can first seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s spokesperson quickly vowed to do so, meaning Trump’s name automatically remains on the ballot until the justices in Washington resolve the appeal.