Trump criticizes conservative Supreme Court justices after rulings block mail-in ballot restrictions

Former President Donald Trump publicly criticized Supreme Court justices, including those he appointed, after the high court blocked his administration's initiatives to restrict mail-in voting for the upcoming midterm elections. The Supreme Court's decision upheld lower court injunctions that had halted the proposed regulations by the U.S. Postal Service. Trump expressed strong disapproval, asserting on social media that the Court was "bullied and cajoled by the Radical Left" and that their ruling was a "horrible, highly political" decision that was a "big loss for Republicans." He lauded Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who were the only public dissenters in the ruling.

The blocked plan, stemming from a March executive order, sought to impose new federal requirements on state mail-in voting procedures. These included mandating the use of specific ballot envelopes with barcodes and requiring states to submit lists of eligible voters to the federal government. Opponents, including numerous states and voting rights organizations, argued that these changes would cause significant disruption and could disenfranchise millions of voters, especially given the proximity to the November elections.

The Supreme Court's unsigned order indicated that the Trump administration was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the lower court rulings. Legal challenges against the administration's plan largely contended that the Constitution grants states, not the federal government, the authority over election administration, and that the proposed postal rules exceeded federal power.