The U.S. state of Maine on Wednesday paused its decision to bar former president Donald Trump from the primary ballot.
The decision would continue until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on a similar case from Colorado.
The U.S. Supreme Court would soon take up the question of whether the former president can be removed from the ballot for the party’s internal primary for the presidential candidacy in the state of Colorado.
A U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the decision in Colorado is scheduled for Feb. 8.
At the end of December, Colorado initially excluded Trump from the Republican primary.
Maine followed shortly afterward. Trump’s lawyers appealed against both decisions.
In both states, the decisions have been suspended for the time being until the appeals process has been finalised.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision would likely set the tone for how Trump’s participation in the Republican primaries will be handled in other states.
Trump opponents across the country have filed lawsuits claiming that the former president has forfeited his right to run for president again due to what they felt was a breach of the 14th Amendment.
Section three of the amendment says that no one will hold any office in the U.S. if they “engaged in insurrection’’.
Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, following a speech given by the then-president.
Congress had convened there to formally confirm Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
The violence left five people dead. (dpa/NAN)
