Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday again rejected President Donald Trump’s appeal to use Missouri’s congressional map, a loss for Republicans as they seek to maintain their House majority in crucial midterm elections.
The decision appears to pave the way for states to use older maps. There were no notable objections to the short order.
This comes after a bitter legal battle that took place just before voting opened for the November election. The new map was drawn to help Republicans win additional seats.
The Supreme Court’s order came hours after a federal judge allowed the Missouri Supreme Court to proceed with a contempt hearing against Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. The battle for Missouri’s congressional districts has been going on for more than a year, creating confusion over which districts are open to voters.
The state Supreme Court previously ordered Hoskins not to use pro-Trump maps in the general election, but instead to use districts passed after the last census. But U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark on Tuesday barred Hoskins from using anything other than the new map backed by Trump.
The state Supreme Court then ordered Hoskins to appear for a contempt hearing on Thursday, accusing him of disobeying orders and directing local election officials to use precincts favored by Trump.
The state attorney representing Hoskins had asked Clark to halt the contempt hearing. But Mr Clark refused to do so.
Last year, Missouri became the second state after Texas to draw new Republican-led districts, after President Trump urged Republicans to redraw congressional districts in their favor ahead of the midterm elections.
The revised Missouri district aims to shift some of the Kansas City-based seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to nearby districts and expand the rest into rural Republican areas. The goal is to help Republicans win seven of the state’s eight House seats (an increase of one seat) in the midterm elections.
Redistricting opponents have gathered hundreds of thousands of petition signatures to force a statewide vote on the new districts. They submitted their signatures in December. But Hoskins waited until August, when Missouri’s primary election was held, to deny the petition. Hoskins argued that referendum petitions cannot be used for legislative redistricting.
The postponement allows Missouri to use new districts in the August primary. Republican state officials argue that it violates voters’ federal right to redistrict before the general election.
But the Missouri Supreme Court last week ordered Hoskins to include the redistricting referendum on the November ballot, which he did. The court also ruled that the new district would not become law and would be suspended retroactively to the filing of the petition in December.
The state then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the state court’s findings. Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied their request.
The court barred Hoskins from using the new map and said the old map, passed by Republican lawmakers in 2022 after the last census, must be used in the November election. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal of that ruling. However, Mr. Clark issued a contradictory order shortly thereafter.
