The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn a preliminary injunction on the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) recent rule restricting mail-in ballots ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The high court issued its decision a day after another federal judge blocked the USPS’s rule. President Trump’s bid, however, was against an initial restraining order issued in late June 2026 by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston.
In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court said the administration “is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to” Judge Talwani’s judicial block barring the Post Office’s rule from being applied in the upcoming elections.
Justice Kavanaugh Concurs With Ruling
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred with the nine-justice court’s decision, despite believing the USPS has authority to apply its proposed mail-in ballot amendment.
“There is at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority,” the Trump-appointed justice wrote, “But applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.”
The USPS Mail-In Ballot Rule
The USPS rule in question includes an amendment to the Mailing Standards of the USPS Domestic Mail Manual. A proposed rule that falls in line with President Trump’s Executive Order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections”.
Under the new rule, states would have to provide the names, addresses, and “unique ballot envelope identifiers” of individuals seeking to obtain a mail-in ballot or face rejection.
With the midterms less than two months away, the high court's rejection paves the way for the race for control of Congress.
Trump Condemns SCOTUS's Decision
President Trump reacted to the decision, condemning the high court for letting "our country down."
"Republicans just got another bad decision from the United States Supreme Court, one that the Court System took forever to give, and then blamed it, in part, on no time left to implement a solution to our totally CORRUPT and out of control Mail-In voting “disaster,” which is a laughing stock all over the World, and where we are the only country that has to endure such a Nation Destroying SCAM," President Trump wrote on Truth Social.
