What was supposed to be a routine State of the Judiciary address Wednesday turned into a Capitol standoff, as Missouri Republicans pulled the plug amid a growing showdown with the state’s highest court.
The cancellation came after Senate Republicans staged a filibuster in protest of last week’s unanimous Missouri Supreme Court decision striking down Senate Bill 22, a GOP-backed law that shifted authority over ballot summary disputes from judges to the Secretary of State and granted the attorney general new appeal powers.
House Majority Leader Alex Riley said he learned upon arriving on the House floor that the chief justice’s address would not go forward.
A Quick History Lesson: SB 22
The story begins in early 2025, when Sen. Rick Brattin introduced SB 22, a bill aimed at preventing courts from rewriting ballot summaries and returning authority over election language to the Secretary of State. As it moved through the legislature, the bill expanded, adding five sections, 4 of which were added to provide clarity to the original bill.
SB 22 passed the Senate with a supermajority in mid-2025 and was signed into law, but critics questioned whether so many changes could legally be combined. Litigation followed, with plaintiffs arguing the law violated the Constitution’s “original purpose” requirement.
On Jan. 7, 2026, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments.
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green partially upheld the law on Jan. 10 but rejected Attorney General Hanaway’s expanded appeal authority.
The full ruling came January 23, with Chief Justice W. Brent Powell striking down the law and returning authority over ballot disputes to the courts, saying it had changed too much during the legislative process.
Political fallout in the Capitol
The Supreme Court ruling set the stage for Wednesday’s dramatic cancellation. Senate Republicans filibustered for more than an hour in protest, while House Republicans prepared for a mass walkout during Chief Justice Powell’s planned address. In the end, leadership canceled the joint session rather than risk a public spectacle.
Sen. Brattin has seized on the ruling to call for changes to Missouri’s judicial system, arguing the court is overstepping its authority. House GOP leaders, including Riley, acknowledged deep frustration but also conceded that the legislature’s reliance on sweeping omnibus bills has repeatedly drawn constitutional scrutiny.
Taking to the floor, Brattin aired a list of grievances that looked to have been building up among Republican officials for some time. Brattin listed issues connected to the court’s ruling on Medicaid Expansion and Planned Parenthood funding.
One Senate insider expressed similar thoughts, saying, “The complaint isn’t just about the judgment given on SB 22, but the continued inconsistency of the Supreme Court when it comes to how it rules on bill language.”
Senator Brattin also mentioned the contempt he felt about how the judiciary handled the abortion language for Amendment 3 leading up to the 2024 elections. The language in question was handled by Cole County Judge Cotton Walker.
“Planned Parenthood couldn’t have written it better.” exclaimed Brattin.
Battin wasn’t alone in his crusade against the “blacked robbed tyrants” as he referred to them. Senators Nick Schorer, Adam Schnelting, and Joe Nicola also offered their dismay with the court from the Senate floor.
They apparently weren’t the only ones though. Capitol sources say roughly 10 Senate Republicans were prepared to sustain the filibuster, while 40 to 50 House Republicans were ready to walk out mid-speech had they failed to vote down the necessary ceremonial rules change needed for the process to begin.
Democrats were unmoved. House Minority Leader Ashley Aune called the cancellation “petty,” framing it as Republicans lashing out at an independent judiciary rather than engaging with the substance of the court’s ruling.
What’s next
With SB 22 dead, the battle over who controls Missouri elections and ballot language is now front and center in Jefferson City. Brattin and other Republicans are signaling that judicial reform will return to the agenda in 2026, and tensions between the legislature and the Supreme Court show no sign of cooling.
Jake Kroesen is a Jackson County native and a graduate of the University of Central Missouri. He holds a B.S. in Political Science.
