US President Donald Trump has criticized the Supreme Court after it rejected his request to overturn an order blocking his planned restrictions on mail-in voting, according to Euronews. The court’s decision leaves the proposal on hold ahead of November’s midterm elections, which will determine the makeup of Congress during the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
Trump denounced the ruling in a post on his Truth Social account, describing it as a “horrible, highly political” decision. He also accused some justices of lacking the courage to support his position and said Republicans had received another unfavorable ruling from the court.
The dispute concerns an executive order Trump issued in March directing the United States Postal Service to develop rules that would stop it from delivering mail-in or absentee ballots to voters unless they appeared on state-specific lists. Trump argued that mail voting was vulnerable to fraud, though Euronews reported that he provided no evidence for that claim.
The order prompted 23 states to sue the administration. The states described the measure as both unprecedented and unconstitutional and sought to prevent it from taking effect. The Supreme Court on Monday declined Trump’s request to lift the order halting the plan.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that there was “at least a fair prospect” that the eventual rule could fall within the Postal Service’s legal authority. He also said state and local election officials did not have enough time to implement it reasonably before the elections. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Civil rights groups welcomed the ruling. The NAACP called it a “big win for voters ahead of the midterm elections,” saying the country functions best when every eligible voter can participate. Euronews also noted that Trump used a mail-in ballot in a Florida election earlier this year, saying he could not attend in person because of other commitments.