Congressional GOP takes victory lap after Supreme Court rules states can't remove Trump from ballot

Congressional Republicans took a victory lap after the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to restore former President Donald Trump to the Colorado ballot as their Democratic colleagues stayed mostly quiet.

“Today's unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court decision is a victory for the American people, the Constitution, and our Republic,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a member of House GOP leadership who Trump is considering as a vice presidential candidate. “We the people decide elections, not unelected radical leftists.”

The decision from the court said states may not disqualify candidates under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Oral arguments did not go well for Colorado during the February hearing before the court, and it was widely expected that justices would rule in favor of Trump's right to be on the ballot by a comfortable margin.

Many GOP lawmakers characterized it as a win for democratic institutions and the electoral process, though others blatantly supported it as a win for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

“Big win for President Trump!” wrote the House Judiciary Committee Republicans in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. That sentiment was almost immediately echoed by other Republicans.

“The Supreme Court made the right decision in this case,” wrote retiring Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), whose state originally kicked Trump off the ballot. “Colorado voters — not partisan politicians — should decide who they want to lead our nation. Just 8 months from now, voters will go the polls [sic] to decide that question.”

House Republican leadership mostly aligned with Buck's sentiment. Speaker Mike Johnson hailed the decision for reversing what he decried as a "purely partisan attack" and urged other states to heed the court's decision.

Meanwhile, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) called the decision a “resounding rebuke” and said he was "glad the Supreme Court got this right.” Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) called it “a big win for the American people and election integrity.”

Some of the potential successors to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also praised the decision. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the court's action "puts an end to Democrats’ efforts to suppress the will of the people, and that’s a win for democracy." Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) bashed the original lawsuit as "an absurd political attempt to block" Trump from the ballot.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately weigh in the high court's action.

Democrats were slower to respond to the ruling, but those few that did were critical of the Supreme Court’s decision.

“The text of our Constitution may be inconvenient and unpleasant to execute, but the text is clear despite any loophole the republican supreme court carves out,” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) wrote in a post.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, only indirectly addressed the court's decision in a post following its release.

"The fate of our nation is on the ballot in November. Vote," the New York Democrat said.

Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.