CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig acknowledged Thursday that President Donald Trump raised a “valid point” while criticizing a Missouri Supreme Court decision blocking the state’s newly drawn congressional map.
The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Republican-backed map cannot be used in November’s midterm elections unless Missouri voters approve it through a referendum. The map, designed to give Republicans an opportunity to gain another House seat, had already been used during the state’s primary election.
Under the ruling, Missouri must return to its previous congressional boundaries for the general election while voters decide the proposed map’s future in November. The state will consequently use different district lines for its primary and general elections, according to The Associated Press.
Trump blasted the ruling on Truth Social, calling it “horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional.”
The president argued that election officials would not have sufficient time to restore the old boundaries before Election Day and said the state should continue using the map employed during the recent primary.
“The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America!” Trump wrote, calling the decision a “Dark Day for ‘Justice’ in Missouri.”
Honig addressed Trump’s objection during Thursday’s edition of CNN’s “The Source” with host Kaitlan Collins.
While making clear that he did not embrace Trump’s language, Honig agreed that the ruling created a serious practical problem.
“I certainly do not adopt the rhetoric, but I think the President raises a valid point here,” Honig said, according to CNN’s transcript.
Honig explained that Missouri had eight congressional districts following the 2020 census, divided into six Republican-leaning seats and two Democratic-leaning seats.
The mid-decade redistricting plan changed that arrangement to seven Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic-leaning district. Missouri used that new map for its primary before the state Supreme Court determined that voters first needed an opportunity to approve it.
Honig questioned where residents would vote and what would happen to candidates who won primaries under boundaries that will no longer apply in November.
“The map’s not going to match up between the primary and the general,” he said, adding that the state court did not explain how officials, voters and candidates should manage the situation.
“So it’s a practical mess in Missouri now,” Honig concluded.
The legal analyst predicted that the Trump administration would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, although he expressed uncertainty about whether the justices would hear the case.
Honig acknowledged that the dispute centers primarily on Missouri law rather than a federal issue. However, he cited the Purcell principle, a legal doctrine discouraging courts from changing election procedures too close to Election Day, as a possible reason for Supreme Court intervention.
“Here we are, 60 days out, and suddenly Missouri has gone from a set procedure to chaos,” Honig said.
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