Trump unloads after Supreme Court upholds late mail-in ballots in Mississippi

President Donald Trump on Monday blasted a Supreme Court opinion upholding a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day to be counted.

The ruling in Watson v. RNC pitted Trump against some of the justices he appointed and dealt a blow to his push for stricter election rules by upholding Mississippi's practice of counting late-arriving mail-in ballots. The decision also prompted a rebuke from one of the Republican senators Trump singled out in a scathing response, after the senator noted he already supports legislation requiring ballots to be received by Election Day.

Trump fired back hours later on Truth Social, calling the case a "tremendous loss" for voters' rights and saying the ruling means Congress must moot it immediately by passing the SAVE America Act.

"It is more important than ever to pass the SAVE America Act," he said.

"There is no excuse for a politician, or otherwise, to be against the above three requirements," he said, citing voter-ID, proof-of-citizenship, and only distributing mail-in ballots to military members, the sick and disabled and those voters traveling away from their home precinct on Election Day.

"There is only one reason to oppose - cheating," he said, adding that the House approved the SAVE Act in three different iterations.

"I don't know which staffer misled you, but thank you for your attention to this matter," Cassidy said, mimicking Trump's signature statement-closer.

Thune's office declined further comment, while McConnell's acknowledged receipt and said the former majority leader would share any comment if he has one in the interim.

While Trump grouped all Democrats in opposition, one maverick member of the minority has signaled he would support a pared-down version that would require voter ID.

"Keep it basic: PHOTO ID to vote. Stop turning this into a Christmas list and attacking vote-by-mail."

Calls for the SAVE America Act's passage mounted in the weeks before the decision as critics pointed to California's ballot tabulation process after actor Spencer Pratt was overtaken by socialist Councilwoman Nithya Raman, D-Los Feliz, and eliminated from the runoff. Critics also cited the slow pace at which Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton were declared general election candidates for governor after a crowded primary.