Supreme Court Deals Trump a Rare Defeat on Mail Voting as Biden Launches Scathing Attack
Supreme Court Deals Trump a Rare Defeat on Mail Voting
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld state laws that count mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day — an unexpected rebuff of President Donald Trump’s sustained campaign against vote-by-mail and a significant legal setback heading into November’s midterm elections. The court’s decision, issued as part of a packed slate of rulings on the last day of its term, rejected Trump’s long-running attacks on absentee voting and handed a victory to voting-rights advocates who had warned that disqualifying late-arriving ballots would disenfranchise thousands of military families, overseas voters, and rural Americans.
Trump wasted no time firing back. Within hours of the ruling, the president called on Congress to pass the SAVE Act — a bill that would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID and proof of citizenship to register, and would mandate in-person voting with strict new documentation requirements for mail ballots. “The radical left knows they cannot win unless they cheat, and the only way to stop them is voter ID and proof of citizenship,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Congress must pass the SAVE Act NOW before November.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the ruling as a win for common sense, though the court did not strike down mail voting entirely. “Today’s decision is a victory for democracy and for the servicemen and women who vote from abroad,” Schumer said. “But make no mistake — House Republicans and the White House are already plotting to restrict voting through the SAVE Act.”
Biden Delivers Scathing Critique of Trump’s Washington
The political firestorm over voting rights unfolded against a backdrop of extraordinary public criticism from former President Joe Biden, who used a keynote address at a Maryland Democratic Party gala on Sunday to deliver one of the sharpest assessments of his successor since leaving office. Biden declared that Trump had “diminished America’s standing in the world more than any president in history” and branded his successor “a loser” whose attempt to remake Washington had exposed him as incompetent, corrupt, and vain.
Biden’s 10-minute critique touched on Trump’s demolition of the White House East Wing to make room for a ballroom, the court-ordered removal of Trump’s name from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center, his plans for a national triumphal arch, and the algae bloom that plagued the president’s $14.7 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. “He promised to drain the swamp,” Biden said. “Instead, he built a golf course — and charged taxpayers for the tee times.”
The former president also accused Trump of “deliberate distortion and destruction” of NATO and of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the expense of American alliances. Biden’s remarks, delivered at a fundraiser aimed at helping Maryland Democrats reclaim congressional seats in November, signaled an aggressive new phase of public engagement by the former commander in chief, who has largely remained out of the spotlight since leaving office.
Trump Vows Retaliation After Supreme Court Allows Fed Governor to Remain
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to remain in her post — at least temporarily — drew an immediate and angry response from Trump, who has sought to remove Cook based on allegations of mortgage fraud she has denied. The court rejected Trump’s attempt to fire Cook immediately, sending the case back to lower courts on procedural grounds rather than ruling on the merits. Trump interpreted the procedural dismissal as a vindication. “The Cook Lawsuit was sent back on a strictly procedural basis, and we will take appropriate action immediately,” Trump wrote.
The rulings came on one of the most consequential days of the court’s term. Justices overturned the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent, significantly expanding the president’s power to remove officials who previously enjoyed protection from dismissal — a decision Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned “promises only chaos.” Meanwhile, the court also declined to overturn the $5 million E. Jean Carroll verdict against Trump, and denied Alan Dershowitz’s defamation appeal against CNN.
The convergence of court rulings, Biden’s searing public critique, and Trump’s immediate legislative counterattack on voting rights underscored the volatility of the political landscape seven months before midterm elections that will determine control of both chambers of Congress. Both parties are treating November as a referendum on Trump’s administration, and both are mobilizing aggressively — legally, legislatively, and in the court of public opinion — to shape the outcome.
