Supreme Court will take up Trump’s eligibility to hold office

Stepping into a political minefield, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether states have the power to knock Donald Trump off the ballot in the looming presidential contest over his role in stoking the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and trying to upend the 2020 election results.

In a brief order Friday, the high court indicated it will review a Colorado Supreme Court decision that concluded Trump is ineligible to run under a provision of the 14th Amendment that strips insurrectionists of the ability to hold U.S. government posts.

The justices set an accelerated timetable to hear the extraordinary election dispute, setting oral arguments on the issue for Feb. 8.