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Supreme Court Rejects Trump-Backed Missouri Map for Third Time
ReSupreme Court Rejects Trump-Backed Missouri Map for Third Time
The Supreme Court refused to revive a Republican-friendly Missouri congressional map, leaving the state's 2022 districts in place for the 2026 midterms with no noted dissents.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Trump-backed Missouri congressional map for the third time, halting a federal appeals court ruling that would have revived the Republican-friendly boundaries for the November elections that will determine control of Congress. The unsigned order drew no noted dissents.
The decision effectively ends the immediate legal fight over which map Missouri will use in the 2026 midterms, leaving the state's 2022 congressional districts in place. The justices made clear that lower courts should neither prohibit use of the 2022 map nor require the state to adopt the newer 2025 version.
«The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri,» the order states. «And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.»
The dispute centered on Republican efforts to redraw a Kansas City-area district that had elected a Black Democrat, a move that could have shifted the state's congressional delegation further to the right. Six of Missouri's eight congressional districts already favor Republicans, and the proposed map was seen as a way to add another GOP-leaning seat.
The Supreme Court had previously turned back the same redistricting push twice before, and Friday's order marked the third rejection of the Trump-backed map. By declining to revive the appeals court ruling, the justices ensured that Missouri voters will cast ballots under the boundaries drawn after the 2020 census.
The ruling comes as states across the country finalize their congressional maps ahead of the midterms, with control of the House of Representatives at stake. Missouri's 2022 map was drawn by a court-appointed panel after the state legislature failed to agree on new boundaries, and it has been used in the two most recent election cycles.
Legal experts noted that the order was brief and unsigned, offering little insight into the justices' reasoning beyond the practical effect of keeping the older map in place. The lack of any noted dissent suggests the court was united in its decision to avoid last-minute changes to the election landscape.
Missouri election officials had been preparing for the possibility of either map, but the Supreme Court's action removes the uncertainty that had hung over the state's congressional races. Candidates and voters can now proceed with the 2022 boundaries, which were already in use for the current Congress.
The case is part of a broader national battle over redistricting, with both parties seeking advantages in states where maps are still being contested. In Missouri, the Republican-led legislature had pushed for the new map, but the courts repeatedly blocked it, citing procedural and legal flaws.
With the November elections approaching, the Supreme Court's decision means Missouri will not be a late-breaking redistricting experiment. The state's congressional delegation will be elected under the same lines that produced the current makeup, leaving both parties to focus on turnout and messaging rather than map changes.
The order does not prevent future legal challenges to Missouri's redistricting process, but it closes the door on any change for the 2026 election. For now, the 2022 map stands, and the fight over Missouri's congressional boundaries will have to wait for another cycle.
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