The U.S. Supreme Court kicked off the closing stretch of this term with a triple blow to President Donald Trump.
In a much-watched case surrounding states’ rights and voting, the court ruled that the federal government cannot require states to toss mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by that deadline.
Trump wants to ban most voting by mail, and the Republican National Committee had sued Mississippi, which grants a five-day grace period for ballots received after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
“The ruling, authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, is a setback for President Donald Trump, who has frequently criticized mail-in voting, claiming without offering evidence that it is rife with fraud,” NBC News reported. The votes of hundreds of thousands of Americans voting by mail were counted in the 2024 election despite being received after Election Day.
“This ruling is a big loss for Trump & GOP allies who have repeatedly claimed that ballots postmarked by Election Day – but arriving days later in the mail – should not be counted,” observed journalist Jamie Dupree. “That issue is now off the table for the 2026 midterms.”
Trump himself recognized the ruling as a “tremendous loss” just one hour after it was handed down — and he used it to again call for passage of his SAVE America Act, which critics say is a voter suppression bill.
He wrote that there was only one reason to oppose the legislation: “Cheating!”
“In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to save our country,” he wrote. “There can be no more excuses!”
Trump also faced another loss on Monday, when the court ruled that the president could not fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, at least for now. NBC News called the court’s ruling a “setback” for Trump. The court did, however, grant the president greater control over other independent federal agencies, a win Trump quickly trumpeted.
“It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Supreme Court also refused to review lower-court rulings that require Trump to pay journalist E. Jean Carroll $5 million.
“A 2023 trial found President Donald Trump liable for allegedly sexually assaulting journalist E. Jean Carroll,” The Washington Post reported. “The decision Monday leaves in place a ruling affirming the judgment.”
