Senior House Democrats signaled Friday that they may not certify the 2024 election results if former President Donald Trump wins, according to The Atlantic.
During oral arguments earlier this month to consider a Colorado ruling finding Trump ineligible for the ballot under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban,” the Supreme Court did not appear persuaded that a single state should be able to remove him, though it is unclear whether the justices will address the eligibility question directly. Depite criticizing Republicans who voted against certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, several senior Democrats who spoke to The Atlantic reportedly left open the possibility of not certifying a Trump 2024 victory if the Supreme Court does not clearly rule on his eligibility.
Democratic California Rep. Zoe Lofgren told the Atlantic she believes Trump is “clearly ineligible” but said the process of challenging it is “very murky.” She said “there’s no procedure, per se, for challenging on this basis,” according to the outlet.
Nevertheless, Lofgren said she “might be” among the legislatures who would seek to disqualify him.
Democratic South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn told the Atlantic he thinks Trump is “an insurrectionist.”
Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff, while noting he would not object if the Supreme Court rules Trump is eligible, told The Atlantic he didn’t “want to get into the chaos hypothetical” of the Supreme Court declining to answer.
“I’m going to follow the law,” Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell told the Atlantic. “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.”
The attorney representing Colorado during oral arguments, Jason Murray, suggested to the justices that the issue may arise again in Congress if they do not make a clear determination.
“If this Court concludes that Colorado did not have the authority to exclude President Trump from the presidential ballot on procedural grounds…I think it could come back with a vengeance because, ultimately, members of Congress would — may have to make the — the determination after a presidential election if President Trump wins about whether or not he is disqualified from office and whether to count votes cast for him under the Electoral Count Reform Act,” he said.
