Trump-backed Missouri congressional map returns to the Supreme Court again

The fight over Missouri's congressional map has returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for the third time

WASHINGTON -- The fight over Missouri's congressional map returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time late Tuesday, after an appeals court ordered the revival of new districts backed by President Donald Trump.

The new map was drawn to help Republicans gain a U.S. House seat in the pivotal midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. The Supreme Court has twice blocked efforts to use it in November.

The latest emergency appeal comes after an unusual federal appeals court ruling that ordered a last-minute return to a GOP-friendly map even after the Supreme Court halted such a move.

The justices had left in place a Missouri Supreme Court decision requiring the state to use its previous map. The state court ruled that the new districts could not take effect unless voters approved them in a statewide referendum.

The U.S. Supreme Court gave supporters of the new map until midday Wednesday to respond to the latest appeal.

The dispute has caused confusion for over a million potential voters who could be shuffled among districts. Absentee voting already is underway in Missouri using districts adopted in 2022, after the last census.

The new congressional map backed by Trump significantly reshapes a Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Republicans hope the map could help them win seven of the state’s eight House seats — one more than they currently hold.

Missouri’s redistricting battle has been the longest and most complex among roughly a dozen states that sought to change their U.S. House districts over the past year. Districts are usually redrawn at the start of each decade, after a census. But Trump spurred a spate of mid-decade redistricting last year when he urged Republican-led states to redraw districts to gain an edge in the midterm.

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