Missouri asks US Supreme Court to allow Trump-backed congressional map
Missouri appeals to the US Supreme Court to reinstate new congressional districts backed by Trump, after the state's highest court blocked them and ordered a public vote.
Missouri has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and allow the use of newly drawn congressional districts that were backed by President Donald Trump, just weeks before the November midterm elections. The appeal follows a ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court that blocked the map and scheduled a statewide referendum on whether to keep it.
The legal fight is part of a broader redistricting push launched by Trump last year, aimed at helping Republicans gain an extra seat in the U.S. House and protect their narrow majority. The new boundaries also reshaped a Kansas City-based district currently represented by longtime Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.
The state's highest court acted after opponents of the map submitted more than 300,000 petition signatures to force a public vote. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had rejected the petition on primary day, arguing that Missouri's constitution does not allow referendums on congressional redistricting. He won in a lower court but lost before the state's top court on Thursday.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the petition effectively suspended the new districts retroactively to December, meaning the previous boundaries drawn after the 2020 census must be used for the general election. The new map was already used in the August primary.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway called the ruling unprecedented, noting that no court had ever overturned a congressional map after a primary but before a general election. Her office wrote that the decision "inflicts unprecedented chaos on Missouri" and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt it immediately.
State law sets a Tuesday deadline for ballot changes. The U.S. Supreme Court has asked opponents of the new map to respond by Monday.
Missouri currently sends six Republicans and two Democrats to the U.S. House. The redistricting dispute is one of several mid-decade battles that have emerged in more than a dozen states, as both parties seek an advantage in the upcoming elections.