POLITICS

Sen. Thom Tillis moves to block other states from disqualifying Trump after Colorado decision

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is moving to give the U.S. Supreme Court sole power to review presidential candidate qualifications after a controversial Colorado Supreme Court's decision said former President Donald Trump is disqualified from the presidency.

Colorado's highest court ruled Tuesday that Trump may not appear on the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president is expected to appeal the decision.

The North Carolina senator is introducing legislation that would take away states' ability to make such decisions and give just the top federal court this jurisdiction.

“Regardless of whether you support or oppose former President Donald Trump, it is outrageous to see left-wing activists make a mockery of our political system by scheming with partisan state officials and pressuring judges to remove him from the ballot,” Tillis said in his press release Tuesday.

Tillis's bill, the Constitutional Election Integrity Act, would also withhold federal funding from state entities — such as the Colorado court — who he says "misuse the 14th Amendment for political purposes," according to his press release.

Colorado's decision, along with other legal challenges against Trump, was based on a clause in the 14th amendment that bars certain officials from power if they engage in an insurrection.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on police use of force and community relations on on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 16, 2020 in Washington. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool via AP)