Trump Blasts His Own Justices After They Block Mail Rules
President Trump publicly ripped his own Supreme Court picks after they voted to block new mail-in ballot rules on Monday. He called Justices Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh "merely a shell of their original selves." The vote came down just weeks before the 2026 midterms. Only Justices Alito and Thomas sided with the President's plan. The rest of the court said the rules could not take effect yet.
Trump wrote a sharp message on Tuesday about the decision. He said, "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court." He added that the current court is "bullied and cajoled by the Radical Left." This comment surprised many supporters who expected his picks to follow his lead. The New York Post reported these exact words from the president.
The rules were meant to stop fraud by adding barcodes to envelopes. States would have to upload voter info to a new portal for checks. But the Supreme Court said the government is unlikely to win this legal fight. The Daily Caller noted the court rejected the emergency request to enforce the rules. They said there was not enough time for states to fix their systems.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has refused to let USPS’s new mail-ballot rules take effect for the 2026 midterms. Justices Alito and Thomas dissent. pic.twitter.com/D27sx76txJ
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) September 14, 2026
Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the outcome but wrote his own opinion. He said applying the rule now would be "arbitrary and capricious." He noted that local officials do not have enough time to prepare. This left the door open for the rules to return in future elections. The Federalist reported that Kavanaugh sees a fair chance the rule is legal later.
Justice Alito and Clarence Thomas strongly disagreed with the majority. Alito argued that some plaintiffs had no right to sue in this case. He called their legal claim a "Hail Mary pass" that rarely succeeds. He believed the government made the necessary showings to stop the ban. Fox News reported that Thomas joined Alito in this firm dissent against the ruling.
The lower court judge who blocked the rules is Indira Talwani. She is an Obama appointee who issued the order on September 4. The Supreme Court declined to pause her decision on Monday night. This means the new envelope designs and tracking barcodes are not happening now. The dispute moves back to the appeals court with seven weeks to go.
This fight matters because it changes how your vote gets counted. The White House wanted to ensure only Americans vote in American elections. A spokesperson called the plan "commonsense measures to protect the security." But the court said the timing was wrong for the 2026 elections. You might see these strict rules in 2028 instead of this year.
Trump's anger shows a deep split between him and his judges. He feels they have lost the values he saw when he hired them. This could change how he picks future judges if he returns to office. The administration argued the rules were modest and the ban was baseless. Yet the court still said the equitable factors do not favor a stay.
For now, the old way of mailing ballots stays in place. The new portal for tracking barcodes will not open before November.