A federal appeals panel ruled on Monday in favor of new Missouri congressional districts backed by President 
Donald Trump, though the ruling has no immediate impact. The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked those districts from being used in the November election, PBS NewsHour reported.
What did the panel decide? A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Missouri should use the new Republican-drawn House districts in November, as it did in its August primary, and that reverting to its prior districts would violate the U.S. Constitution. It directed a lower court judge to issue a permanent injunction against using any other map, but ordered the effect delayed for one week to allow time for an appeal. "The Constitution does not permit Missouri to use a different congressional district map in the November 2026 general election than it used in the August 2026 primary election," the panel wrote.
Where does the election stand? Missouri is currently set to run its November election with the same districts it used in 2024 and 2022, following decisions by the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, which has twice sided against the Trump-backed map, PBS NewsHour reported. Local officials have already sent absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military voters using those districts, and state law requires absentee ballots to be available to all other voters by Tuesday. Changing districts this late would be "practically impossible" and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities said in a legal filing. An attorney for the Republicans who sued, including U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, raised the possibility during arguments last Thursday that there was still time to revert to the Trump-backed map, and the panel agreed.
Who sat on the panel? The panel consists of Judge James Loken, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, and two appointees of Trump, Judges David Stras and Justin Smith. Before his June appointment, Smith was an attorney who represented Trump as he unsuccessfully appealed a $5 million jury verdict in writer E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit, PBS NewsHour reported.
What happens next? Opponents of the map said they will file an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. People Not Politicians, which spearheaded a referendum petition to put the new map to a statewide vote in November, said it will appeal. "Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted," Richard von Glahn, the group's executive director, said in a statement.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
