On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped Missouri from using a congressional map drawn by Republicans in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

It was the third time the court had stepped into the dispute, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump's party as it works to maintain its narrow majority in the House.

A Battle Fought in Courtrooms, Not Ballot Boxes

The unsigned order sided with the map's challengers, including Missouri's grassroots campaign committee and anti-gerrymandering organization People Not Politicians. The justices warned that reinstating the Republican map mid-election "would usher in electoral chaos." No justice publicly dissented.

The fight centers on a 2025 map that eliminated a Kansas City-based district long represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The redistricting was part of a broader effort encouraged by Trump in GOP-led states to improve Republicans' chances of holding the House.

Conflicting Court Rulings

The Supreme Court had already blocked the Republican map on Sep. 10 in an unsigned order that did not provide an explanation. However, on Monday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the map must still be used. It also ordered U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, to make his earlier temporary order supporting the map permanent.

That ruling put the appeals court at odds with the Supreme Court's own Sept. 10 decision, prompting challengers to ask the justices to step in a third time.

Separately, Missouri's own Supreme Court had ruled Sep. 3 that the map required voter approval through a referendum before taking effect.

A Prediction That Came True

Richard von Glahn of People Not Politicians said in a statement to Reuters that the group was "done with corrupt politicians trying to force their map into effect" outside the process laid out in Missouri's constitution. He added that "people, not politicians" would have the final say on what he called a "DC power grab."

Earlier in the week, before Friday's ruling, Glahn said he was confident that the Supreme Court would again rule that the map used in the 2022 and 2024 elections should be used in November. His prediction turned out to be correct.

Cleaver, whose district was targeted by the redraw, wrote on X that state officials had spent over a year trying to "silence the voices of Missouri voters and steal a congressional seat." He said more than 305,000 Missourians had demanded a say, adding that the Supreme Court had "put this shameful and unlawful scheme to rest."