The story

The Supreme Court ruled Monday night to block new Postal Service rules for mail voting that President Trump's administration sought to implement before the November midterm elections. The court voted 7 to 2 to uphold a lower court ruling that paused the regulations while legal challenges proceed. The new rules would have required state and local election officials to register voters in a new federal database to send out mail ballots and mandated that ballot envelopes include unique barcodes and meet certain design requirements. Election officials warned the changes could disrupt voting for millions of Americans.

Trump responded Tuesday on Truth Social, calling the decision horrible and highly political. He specifically attacked the three justices he appointed during his first term, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, writing that these are not the people he interviewed to serve on the court and that they are merely a shell of their original selves. Only Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas sided with Trump. The court said in its unsigned order that the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of the case.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday the Trump administration would comply with the ruling. Several states have already begun sending mail ballots. The decision is part of a pattern in which the court has occasionally blocked Trump administration initiatives, including previous rulings against his tariff policy and executive order restricting birthright citizenship, which Trump also criticized again Tuesday.