Battle lines drawn as Missouri court blocks Trump-backed US House map
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
The Missouri supreme court blocked a Republican-drawn new congressional map from being used in November’s midterm elections, a blow to the party’s odds for maintaining its narrow US House majority.
The ruling could save the House seat of longtime Democratic U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver. His Kansas City-based district had been dismantled under the redrawn map.
“Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won,” Cleaver said in a social media post on Thursday.
The decision marked a setback for Republicans in a national redistricting battle, AP reported, as Republicans had hoped Missouri’s new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold on to their slim House majority in the midterms.
“The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” the court said in its ruling. The legislation containing the new districts “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.”
As a result, the congressional map adopted after the 2020 census “remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election.”
Missouri attorney general Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately appeal to the US supreme court, asserting that the decision “has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis.”
Meanwhile, Missouri governor Mike Kehoe, a Republican who backed the redrawn map, said on X: “We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision by unelected judges and their lack of respect for the legislative process.”
Trump condemned the ruling in a post on Truth Social, saying it was “a Dark Day for ’Justice’ in Missouri!”.
But Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, told reporters that “the Missouri constitution says what it says, and those words matter.”
He added: “This is what democracy looks like. The people of Missouri demanded a voice, and the court just confirmed what we’ve been saying all along. People, not politicians, will have the final say.”
In other developments:
-
The Trump administration filed an emergency request asking the US supreme court to lift order blocking USPS from implementing mail-in voting restrictions. Chuck Schumer said the president was “[attempting] to destroy the integrity of our elections” with the move.
-
Excavation work on Donald Trump’s “Great Triumphal Arch” project in Washington is set to begin in the coming weeks, interior secretary Doug Burgum said. Congressman Don Beyer, whose district includes Arlington National Cemetery, described the arch project as “illegal, gridlock-increasing [and] narcissistic”.
-
Maryland’s supreme court has decided that a Democrat-backed congressional redistricting amendment can go before voters in the state in November in a win for Democrats.
-
Donald Trump announced an interim replacement for army secretary, Dan Driscoll, who suddenly resigned earlier this week amid reports of tension between him and defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
-
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has been asked to testify before a congressional subcommittee as part of an investigation into the “potential misallocation” of federal funds by the region’s Homeless Services Authority. Congressman Robert Garcia described the move as “another attempt by Donald Trump and House Republicans to launch a witch-hunt against Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles.”
Key events
Uwa Ede-Osifo
A Missouri House race has been rocked by the Wednesday arrest of Republican candidate Thomas Ross, whom prosecutors accuse of attempting to frame his primary opponent Louise Secker for cocaine possession.
In June, Ross allegedly gave his former campaign manager, identified by the initials “CS” in court documents, a bag of cocaine and Adderall. The two allegedly devised a plan for the former manager to stash the drugs in Secker’s purse or vehicle.
On 21 June, prosecutors said, Ross asked for an update on the plot.
“Taking it no luck with the substance of it all?” he wrote in a text to his staffer. “Substance” was a euphemism for the narcotics, authorities say.
“I am actually creeping down to the car show right now and seeing if I can see your car. I have had it on me for a couple days in order to be able to take full advantage of any opportunity that arises,” the former manager replied, according to court documents.
“I thought I had it at the forum Walter went to, but never got close [and] car was locked.”
The Joplin police department in Missouri alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on 30 July to a public corruption matter. It’s unclear how the police were alerted to the alleged scheme. The next day, the federal agency gave the former manager a covert recording device, which he used to tape a conversation with Ross.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will ask Europeans to repay the American aid provided to Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump has long demanded that Europeans shoulder more of the cost of Western support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, which began more than four years ago.
“Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for – If they were only asked, but we will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
The president did not specify which countries he believed should pay.
Battle lines drawn as Missouri court blocks Trump-backed US House map
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
The Missouri supreme court blocked a Republican-drawn new congressional map from being used in November’s midterm elections, a blow to the party’s odds for maintaining its narrow US House majority.
The ruling could save the House seat of longtime Democratic U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver. His Kansas City-based district had been dismantled under the redrawn map.
“Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won,” Cleaver said in a social media post on Thursday.
The decision marked a setback for Republicans in a national redistricting battle, AP reported, as Republicans had hoped Missouri’s new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold on to their slim House majority in the midterms.
“The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” the court said in its ruling. The legislation containing the new districts “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.”
As a result, the congressional map adopted after the 2020 census “remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election.”
Missouri attorney general Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately appeal to the US supreme court, asserting that the decision “has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis.”
Meanwhile, Missouri governor Mike Kehoe, a Republican who backed the redrawn map, said on X: “We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision by unelected judges and their lack of respect for the legislative process.”
Trump condemned the ruling in a post on Truth Social, saying it was “a Dark Day for ’Justice’ in Missouri!”.
But Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, told reporters that “the Missouri constitution says what it says, and those words matter.”
He added: “This is what democracy looks like. The people of Missouri demanded a voice, and the court just confirmed what we’ve been saying all along. People, not politicians, will have the final say.”
In other developments:
-
The Trump administration filed an emergency request asking the US supreme court to lift order blocking USPS from implementing mail-in voting restrictions. Chuck Schumer said the president was “[attempting] to destroy the integrity of our elections” with the move.
-
Excavation work on Donald Trump’s “Great Triumphal Arch” project in Washington is set to begin in the coming weeks, interior secretary Doug Burgum said. Congressman Don Beyer, whose district includes Arlington National Cemetery, described the arch project as “illegal, gridlock-increasing [and] narcissistic”.
-
Maryland’s supreme court has decided that a Democrat-backed congressional redistricting amendment can go before voters in the state in November in a win for Democrats.
-
Donald Trump announced an interim replacement for army secretary, Dan Driscoll, who suddenly resigned earlier this week amid reports of tension between him and defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
-
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has been asked to testify before a congressional subcommittee as part of an investigation into the “potential misallocation” of federal funds by the region’s Homeless Services Authority. Congressman Robert Garcia described the move as “another attempt by Donald Trump and House Republicans to launch a witch-hunt against Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles.”
