WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on the Supreme Court after the high court rejected his proposal to impose new restrictions on mail-in voting—which has been shown to facilitate voting by non-citizens—before the November midterm elections.
Trump called the decision “horrible” and criticized the justices who opposed his proposal, including some he himself nominated during his first term. He also praised Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who dissented from the decision.
The Supreme Court issued an emergency order on Monday blocking the new rules proposed by the administration. The ruling allows states to continue using their existing mail-in voting procedures for the November elections.
The Trump administration had sought to give the United States Postal Service (USPS) a central role in implementing new rules for mail-in ballots, aimed at curbing potentially fraudulent votes that are counted as valid. Among the proposed measures were changes to ballot envelopes and new identification and processing mechanisms.
The administration hoped the modifications would contribute to strengthening election security. However, lower courts blocked their implementation, and the Supreme Court decided to uphold those restrictions, noting that the administration would likely fail to demonstrate that the measure should take effect for this year's elections.
Attorney General Todd Blanche later confirmed that the administration would comply with the court's decision, though he assured that the government would continue working on its election-related policies.
The ruling maintains, for now, the current mail-in voting rules in the various states for the November 3, 2026, midterm elections.