The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday morning that former President Donald Trump cannot be removed from the ballot in Colorado using the 14th Amendment, putting to rest a legal argument that was tenuous at its best.

The decision came only weeks after oral arguments were heard on February 8 and the day before primary voting in Colorado and 14 other states, commonly known as Super Tuesday.

Trump has a wide lead in both delegates and polling in states that have not yet voted over his lone remaining challenger, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who previously had a position in his administration as UN Ambassador.

Despite his lead, the Colorado Supreme Court branded him an insurrectionist without charges or a trial and tried to say that the 14th Amendment prohibits him from holding elected office.

Never been used

The amendment has never been used against a presidential candidate and was mostly used in the 1800s after the Civil War to keep former Confederate soldiers out of Congress or local governments.

The Court ruled that the Colorado decision was wrong because the Constitution said that Congress must enforce the amendment through passing legislation, which did not happen in the Colorado case.

"Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates, we reverse," the court decision concluded.

The court did not really deal with how Colorado determined that Trump was an insurrectionist, or whether he in fact was one, in their opinion.

It was a diplomatic way for the liberal justices to agree with the others and save face with their political allies on the left.

States' rights

In oral arguments, it was clear that the conservative wing of the court was very apprehensive about the way ballot removal on these grounds would give more power to certain states and in essence, allow a few states to decide the presidency, disenfranchising millions of voters.

"It will come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election," Chief Justice John Roberts said. "That's a pretty daunting consequence."

And at least one liberal justice agreed. "I think the question that you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States," said Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee.

The decision is expected to impact other states that have made similar decisions to remove Trump from their ballots. Both Maine and Illinois did so, but paused the implementation of their rulings until the Supreme Court ruling was made.

Trump celebrated the ruling as a "BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!" and accused Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department against him because he was behind in the polls and struggling mightily with his re-election bid.