Blow to Republican congressional map: Missouri Supreme Court blocks plan to expand GOP majority in Congress

Both President Donald Trump and the Republicans suffered a major setback on Thursday after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot implement a new congressional district map designed to give the Republican Party another seat in the House of Representatives before voters have a chance to decide its fate, thereby blocking the implementation of a 7-1 congressional map favorable to the party and paving the way for a citizen-driven referendum that could take place in November to determine whether the new map goes into effect.

The dispute over redistricting initially arose in 2025, when state Republicans responded to pressure from the Trump administration and national Republican Party leaders to join a broader battle over congressional maps. Although Republicans currently control six of Missouri's eight House districts, the proposed map was designed to improve their chances of gaining one more seat by splitting Cleaver's district, which is based in Kansas City.

However, to everyone's surprise, the court noted that the new congressional boundaries "did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters." It also ruled that "The congressional redistricting the General Assembly established in 2022 remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election."

In response to the decision, Missouri's Republican Attorney General, Catherine Hanaway, announced that her office would "immediately" seek intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that "Never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary and before a general election. This unprecedented decision clearly violates federal law and has thrust our state into a full fledged constitutional crisis," Hanaway stated in a post on X.

For their part, the Democrats celebrated the Missouri Supreme Court's decision, arguing that the Republicans' proposed maps were clearly anti-democratic. "The Missouri Supreme Court just unanimously ruled to reverse the gerrymandered, anti-democracy maps until THE PEOPLE have a chance to vote. This is only possible because of the work done by our neighbors to gather signatures and fight back!" the party stated on its official X account.