Supreme Court Blocks Trump-Backed Missouri Map, 2022 Lines Restored

The Supreme Court halted a federal judge's order, and Missouri will now run November's elections with its 2022 congressional map.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday granted an emergency request by the group People Not Politicians to halt a temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, which had required Missouri to use a new Republican-drawn congressional map in the November elections. In a brief unsigned order with no noted dissents, the justices paused Clark's ruling while litigation moves forward in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Hours later, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins issued new guidance directing local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map instead, saying the only governing order in effect is from the Missouri Supreme Court.

The decision marked the second time the high court refused to let the Trump-backed map take effect, rejecting a push from Republican officials just nine days before the federal deadline to send ballots to military and overseas voters. Justice Brett Kavanaugh had rejected Hoskins' emergency request on Tuesday, and only minutes later Clark issued his conflicting order requiring the new map. The full court's decision to stay Clark's order, without any public dissent, signals broad agreement that the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling should govern. Washington University law professor Travis Crum told St. Louis Public Radio that the signal suggests the 2022 maps will be used in November.

The legal chaos extended into the Missouri Supreme Court, which held a hearing Thursday on whether to hold Hoskins in contempt for a Sept. 8 email instructing election officials to use the 2025 map. Chief Justice W. Brent Powell called the situation 'precarious,' and judges repeatedly pressed for new guidance to use the 2022 districts. In a brief afternoon hearing, the court found Hoskins in contempt of its Sept. 3 order but concluded that his subsequent statements directing officials to use the 2022 map purged the finding, according to SCOTUSblog.

The new map was drawn at President Trump's urging to gain one additional Republican House seat, targeting the Kansas City-based seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by shedding parts into neighboring districts and stretching the remainder into rural Republican areas. Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to redraw districts ahead of the midterms. Opponents submitted more than 300,000 signatures in December for a referendum, but Hoskins rejected the petition in August on the day of the primary, arguing a referendum could not be used for congressional redistricting. The Missouri Supreme Court disagreed, ruling the new map never became law.

Restoring the 2022 map preserves a safe seat for Cleaver, who will be heavily favored against Republican nominee Rick Brattin, and is a significant blow to Republican efforts to win seven of Missouri's eight House seats. It also complicates the election for some voters: Missouri will run the general election with a different map than it used in the August primary, meaning some people may not be able to vote for the same candidate they chose in the primary. The referendum on the new map, Proposition A, will appear on the November ballot, and People Not Politicians executive director Richard von Glahn urged voters to reject it.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled a Sept. 17 hearing in the case brought by Rep. Robert Onder and Rick Brattin, close to the deadline for sending military ballots, with first Missouri ballots set to go out Sept. 19 according to NBC News. Onder said the case is not over, arguing it is unfair that primary voters may land in different districts for the general election, while Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said the 2022 map is the most likely outcome but declined to rule out further twists. Hoskins, for his part, told reporters he had no regrets about how he handled the nationally watched redistricting push.