Court arguments begin on blocking Donald Trump from US presidential ballot

Whether the judges keep Mr Trump on the ballots or boot him, their rulings are likely to be swiftly appealed, eventually to the US Supreme Court

Former US president Donald Trump arrives at a rally in Iowa on Sunday (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Efforts to use the US Constitution’s “insurrection” clause to bar former president Donald Trump from running for the White House again has entered a new phase as a hearing begins in the first of two states’ lawsuits that could end up reaching the US Supreme Court.

A week-long hearing on one lawsuit to ban Mr Trump from the ballot in Colorado got underway on Monday, while on Thursday oral arguments are scheduled before the Minnesota Supreme Court on an effort to kick the Republican former president off the ballot in that state.