JEFFERSON CITY
Missouri's Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously blocked a congressional map backed by President Donald Trump, restoring the state's previous districts just two months before the November elections.
The map, signed into law in September 2025, was specifically designed to help Republicans gain an extra U.S. House seat. Nearly 300,000 Missouri residents signed a petition to put the new map to a public vote, but Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected it as legally insufficient.
The state Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that the referendum petition was "legal, sufficient, and timely" and that Hoskins "incorrectly concluded otherwise." The court found no constitutional exception barred the petition.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, immediately announced plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling the ruling a "full-fledged constitutional crisis." She noted that "never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary and before a general election."
President Trump denounced the decision on social media, calling it "horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional."
The Missouri case is part of a broader Trump-led redistricting campaign. Last year, Trump urged Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional maps outside the traditional 10-year cycle following census results. About 10 states ultimately complied. Most new maps favored Republicans, though California redrew its districts to benefit Democrats.
There is no federal law prohibiting partisan redistricting, commonly known as gerrymandering. The Missouri court had previously affirmed that the special legislative action to change the state's map was lawful.
