In blow to Trump, Missouri top court blocks Republican-drawn congressional map

The ruling could return longtime Democratic U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver to the House, after his Kansas City-based district was dismantled under the redrawn map.

The court found the state’s Republican secretary of state, Denny Hoskins, improperly rejected an effort to put the new map to a voter referendum before it could take effect.

Republican lawmakers had installed the new map as part of a broader campaign backed by President Donald Trump to redraw district lines to favor the party’s candidates.

Some Democratic states responded with their own redistricting plans. But Republicans eventually secured an advantage after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling permitted several conservative Southern states to eliminate districts with significant Black populations.