Missouri's Republican Attorney General, Catherine Hanaway, has filed an emergency appeal asking the US Supreme Court to reinstate a Trump-backed congressional redistricting map after the state's Supreme Court blocked it and ordered a public vote on the matter in November. The dispute matters because the map, drawn up by the GOP-controlled legislature, was designed to help Republicans gain an extra US House seat and protect their narrow majority, making it a key flashpoint in a wider nationwide battle over mid-decade redistricting pushed by President Trump.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a referendum petition, backed by more than 300,000 signatures, meant the new districts could not take effect without voter approval, overturning a lower court decision and the state's Republican secretary of state. As a result, the pre-existing map from the 2020 census will apply in November unless the US Supreme Court intervenes, even though the new districts were already used in last month's primaries. Justice Brett Kavanaugh has given opponents until Monday to respond, with a Tuesday deadline looming for ballot changes; Hanaway argues no US court has ever ordered a map change between a primary and general election, while Trump and Missouri's governor have both condemned the state court's ruling.