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In reply to the discussion: Supreme Court rules Trump cannot be kicked off Colorado ballot [View all]Mistwell
(569 posts)"This case raises the question whether the States, in addition to Congress, may also enforce Section 3. We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency...As an initial matter, not even the respondents contend that the Constitution authorizes States to somehow remove sitting federal officeholders who may be violating Section 3. Such a power would flout the principle that the Constitution guarantees the entire independence of the General Government from any control by the respective States. ...Indeed, consistent with that principle, States lack even the lesser powers to issue writs of mandamus against federal officials or to grant habeas corpus relief to persons in federal custody...The Fourteenth Amendment, on its face, does not
affirmatively delegate such a power to the States. The terms of the Amendment speak only to enforcement by Congress, which enjoys power to enforce the Amendment through legislation pursuant to Section 5...The text of Section 3 reinforces these conclusions. Its final sentence empowers Congress to remove any Section 3 disability by a two-thirds vote of each house. The text imposes no limits on that power, and Congress may exercise it any time, as the respondents concede. "