US Supreme Court blocks Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court blocked Missouri from using a redrawn congressional map that favors Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, a move that could impact President Donald Trump's party's chances of maintaining its slim majority in the House of Representatives. The court granted an emergency request by the map's challengers to suspend a federal judge's decision that permitted only the reconfigured boundaries to be used in the Nov 3 elections.

The order was unsigned and provided no explanation, as is customary when the justices handle emergency matters. There were no public dissenting opinions from the justices. The challengers, including a group called People Not Politicians opposed to the Republican-drawn map, sought the Supreme Court's intervention after a federal judge in St. Louis, Missouri ruled in favor of the redrawn map on Tuesday.

This decision came shortly after the Supreme Court declined to intervene in another attempt by Missouri officials to reinstate the redrawn map, which had previously been blocked by the state's top court. The conflict between the federal judge's order and the Missouri Supreme Court's unanimous September 3 ruling left Missouri's congressional districts in a state of uncertainty, adding further complexity to the highly contested electoral battle.

Republicans had adopted the new map in 2025 as part of a strategy backed by President Trump to redraw congressional districts in a way that could benefit their candidates. Currently, Republicans hold a narrow 219-214 majority in the US House, with one independent who typically votes with Republicans.