Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche leaves following a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department faced a wave of ridicule Monday after a federal appeals court rejected its emergency effort to intervene in California’s election.
“So much losing for DoJ on election stuff,” former national security official Brian P. McKeon wrote on social media.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the administration’s appeal in a 2-1 ruling, dealing a setback to its attempt to force California to set aside ballots from more than 20,00 voters suspected of being noncitizens.
Former White House ethics czar Norma Eisen celebrated the decision, calling the administration’s maneuver a “desperate attempt to prevent 20,000 votes from being counted” in California.
“This is a major win for voters in CA & everywhere!” Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, posted.
Progressive strategist Murshed Zaheed also piled on.
“The Ls keep coming for the Trump regime,” he wrote in a Bluesky post.
Journalist Jessica Huseman, editorial director for Votebeat, highlighted the court’s criticism of the administration’s timing.
“The court basically says DOJ created its own emergency by waiting so long to act,” she wrote on X.
Election law expert Rick Hasen called the decision “a victory for California and voters,” but cautioned that the legal fight was far from over.
“If the same panel sits, it will side 2-1 with California on the merits,” he wrote Monday on his Election Law Blog. “And I expect on another potential trip to SCOTUS, DOJ would lose once again.”
The ruling came one day before a scheduled district court hearing, where the underlying legal battle is set to continue.
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