The move likely marks the end of the line for Trump’s legal push to reverse his defeat.
The Supreme Court has rejected a longshot bid by Texas and other Republican-led states to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in last month’s election, dashing President Donald Trump’s last-ditch hope that the justices effectively hand him a second term.
In a brief order Friday evening, the justices summarily refused the unusual case Texas filed Monday against four swing states whose voters favored Biden.
“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections,” the court wrote in its unsigned order.
No justice indicated any endorsement of Texas’ arguments. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issued a statement saying they would have allowed Texas’ to file its case under a rarely-used procedure for interstate disputes, but they said “would not grant other relief.”
The decision brings an abrupt, unceremonious end to Trump’s legal effort to essentially scrap the democratic process in order to preserve his presidency, a six-week-long crusade in which he has spread false conspiracies about voter fraud to drive up distrust of the U.S. election system. Trump dubbed the Supreme Court gambit “the big one” and had publicly pressed the justices to rule for him to “save America.”
Texas’s audacious legal move, lodged by its scandal-plagued attorney general Ken Paxton, won Trump’s endorsement and the backing of 126 Republican members of the House, including GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy. However, the attempt also prompted an angry reaction from the targeted states and led many Democrats and some GOP officials to denounce the effort as a dangerous assault on the foundation of American democracy.
“Every American who cares about the rule of law should take comfort that the Supreme Court — including all three of President Trump’s picks — closed the book on the nonsense,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) tweeted Friday evening.
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The Supreme Court rejected a longshot bid by Texas and other Republican-led states to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election
https://t.co/lbhxx9QG8Y— POLITICO (@politico) December 11, 2020
… and then he ate a fistful of Tide Pods and smashed his own crotch with a sock full of quarters, just to put a bow on his statement. https://t.co/WW98omcCU9
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) December 12, 2020
Yes I am going to say this: I TOLD YOU THE SUPREME COURT WOULD REJECT THIS, YOU LEG HUMPING IDIOTS.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) December 12, 2020
There were zero votes for the TX AG on the merits, including zero votes from Trump appointees. It was a clown suit from the beginning, and 126 representatives, 18 state AG’s, and a host of prominent right-wing activists beclowned themselves by supporting it.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) December 12, 2020
As I was saying. https://t.co/YIWNQoffJK
— Matt Franck (@MatthewJFranck) December 11, 2020
Over/under on how long it takes for @realDonaldTrump to tweet some unhinged attack on the Supreme Court?
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) December 12, 2020
I’m not a lawyer but this sounds an awful lot like sedition? https://t.co/7LCvWmCQ6X
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 12, 2020
Spoiler: Yes. https://t.co/5FLnPYLHtK
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 12, 2020For anyone wondering about Justices Alito and Thomas, they’ve been consistent about this technical objection across cases—that #SCOTUS has to at least grant leave to file in state-state disputes.
The *much* bigger story is their emphasis that they’d grant “no other relief.” https://t.co/mglc9Zyq4Q
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 11, 2020
Tough night for those of you hoping to see Ted Cruz argue this nonsensical case at the Supreme Court.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) December 11, 2020
Inbox from @BenSasse’s office. pic.twitter.com/3K1cm7WDZ1
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) December 12, 2020
From a wise friend: So, just so I understand what the Alito/Thomas blurb is about, SCOTUS is effectively saying “get the eff off my lawn” while Alito/Thomas are like “you’re welcome to ring the doorbell but no way are we opening the door to you weirdos?” EXACTLY 🔥
— Sarah Isgur (@whignewtons) December 11, 2020
SCOTUS has dismissed Texas' preposterous and offensive attempt to overturn the election and install Trump as president. https://t.co/VYGQF0t9Zz pic.twitter.com/iP5xIhvfsC
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) December 11, 2020
So stupid and predictable. https://t.co/jPVBo9yUET
— David French (@DavidAFrench) December 12, 2020
The election fraud hoax will go down as one of the most embarrassing and dishonorable episodes in American political history, and countless Republican officials went along with it and promoted it.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 12, 2020
I love the Order tossing this turkey. Some are whining about Justices Alito’s and Thomas’ “dissent,” but actually, it’s not really a dissent. Essentially, they disagreed with their colleagues about ruling without a hearing but indicated they would not grant any other relief to the plaintiffs.
As for the guy on Newsmax who said so-called conservatives are wondering whether Justices Kavanaugh, Barrett and Gorsuch understood the “gravity of the situation” — well, first of all, I don’t know who would say such things, but whoever they are, they don’t sound like conservatives to me. Secondly, I think the justices understood perfectly that there was nothing grave about this case. The justices are not isolated from the rest of the world. They are well aware of what Trump and his allies are trying to do with all this litigation and they and their colleagues were not about to go along with any of it. I suppose that this “betrayal” by all three justices appointed by Trump must be eating at him. He expected he had them in his pocket because they would be “grateful” to him for their appointment. He was wrong.
The one thing that bothers me is now these justices will be targeted by the fringe groups in the Trump cult. Already I understand that on Parler, a few thinly veiled threats have been made. Lets hope the FBI and other law enforcement which monitors social media will act if the rhetoric escalates.
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