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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden鈥檚 election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation鈥檚 highest court.

The court鈥檚 order was its second this week rebuffing Republican requests that it get involved in the 2020 election outcome and overturn the will of voters as expressed in an election regarded by both Republican and Democratic officials as free and fair. The justices turned away an appeal from Pennsylvania Republicans on Tuesday.

The Electoral College meets Monday to formally elect Mr. Biden as the next president.

President Trump had called the lawsuit filed by Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin 鈥渢he big one鈥� that would end with the Supreme Court undoing Mr. Biden鈥檚 substantial Electoral College majority and allowing Mr. Trump to serve another four years in the White House.

In a brief order, the court said Texas does not have the legal right to sue those states because it 鈥渉as not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.鈥�

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who have said previously the court does not have the authority to turn away lawsuits between states, said they would have heard Texas鈥� complaint. But they would not have done as Texas wanted pending resolution of the lawsuit, and set aside those four states鈥� 62 electoral votes for Mr. Biden.

Three Trump appointees sit on the high court. In his push to get the most recent of his nominees, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed quickly, Mr. Trump said she would be needed for any post-election lawsuits. Justice Barrett appears to have participated in both cases this week. None of the Trump appointees noted a dissent in either case.

Eighteen other states won by Mr. Trump in last month鈥檚 election, 126 GOP members of Congress, and Mr. Trump himself joined Texas in calling on the justices to take up the case that sought to stop electors from casting their votes for Mr. Biden.

The four states sued by Texas had urged the court to reject the case as meritless. They were backed by another 22 states and the District of Columbia.

Republican support for the lawsuit and its call to throw out millions of votes in four battleground states based on baseless claims of fraud was an extraordinary display of the party鈥檚 willingness to subvert the will of voters. The House members backing the suit included House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

鈥淭his lawsuit is an act of flailing GOP desperation, which violates the principles enshrined in our American Democracy,鈥� House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a message to Democrats on Friday.

A few Republicans have expressed concerns about the case. Many others have remained silent even as Mr. Trump endlessly repeated claims that he lost a chance at a second term due to widespread fraud.

鈥淭exas is a big state, but I don鈥檛 know exactly why it has a right to tell four other states how to run their elections. So I鈥檓 having a hard time figuring out the basis for that lawsuit,鈥� Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander told NBC鈥檚 Chuck Todd in an interview for 鈥淢eet The Press鈥� that will air Sunday.

To be clear, there has been no evidence of widespread fraud.

The Texas complaint repeated false, disproven, and unsubstantiated accusations about the voting in four states that went for Mr. Trump鈥檚 Democratic challenger. The high court had never before been asked for such a dramatic remedy.

Two days after Mr. Paxton filed his suit, Mr. Trump jumped into the high court case. Hours later, the president held a meeting at the White House, scheduled before the suit was filed, with a dozen Republican attorneys general, including Mr. Paxton and several others who backed the effort.

鈥淚f the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!鈥� he tweeted Friday afternoon. Mr. Trump had spent the week relentlessly tweeting about the Texas case with the hashtag 鈥渙verturn鈥� and claiming, falsely, that he had won the election but was robbed.

Still, some of the top state Republican prosecutors who urged the court to get involved acknowledged that the effort was a long shot and sought to distance themselves from Mr. Trump鈥檚 baseless allegations of fraud. North Dakota鈥檚 Wayne Stenehjem, among the attorneys general supporting the case, said North Dakota is not alleging voter fraud in the four states at issue.

鈥淲e鈥檙e careful on that,鈥� said Mr. Stenehjem, who noted that his office has received thousands of calls and emails from constituents asking the state to support the suit. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 worth it for the Supreme Court to weigh in and settle it once and for all,鈥� he said.

The case has inflamed already high tensions over the election. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office staff received two death threats Thursday after he signed onto the brief supporting the case.

The lawsuit has also divided officials in some states.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox supported Texas鈥� case, even though he said the suit was 鈥渂elated鈥� and its chances 鈥渁re slim at best.鈥� Fox said the case raised 鈥渋mportant constitutional questions about the separation of powers and the integrity of mail-in ballots in those defendant states.鈥�

But Gov. Steve Bullock, D-Mont., urged the court to reject the case. He said the fact that Texas is not suing Montana, which Mr. Trump won, even though the state similarly used mail-in ballots underscores that 鈥渢his action is less about election integrity than it is about attempting to overturn the will of the electorate.鈥�

The litigation rankled Democratic attorneys general. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, called the attempt to overturn votes 鈥渦nconscionable.鈥� Support among other leading lawyers was disturbing, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who鈥檚 also co-chair of the Democratic attorneys general group, told The Associated Press.

鈥淚 do think that these individuals are kowtowing to a president who has implemented some level of control and authority over the duly elected attorneys general in their states in a way that is unfortunate,鈥� he said.

Many of the attorneys general supporting the case have shown greater political ambitions.

In Kansas, Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is considering a bid for governor in 2022, announced that he would back the effort only hours after former Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer 鈥� another potential candidate for governor 鈥� tweeted that Mr. Schmidt鈥檚 office should.

Despite the political pressure, Idaho鈥檚 Republican attorney general chose not to join Texas.

鈥淎s is sometimes the case, the legally correct decision may not be the politically convenient decision,鈥� Lawrence Wasden said in a statement. 鈥淏ut my responsibility is to the state of Idaho and the rule of law.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Merchant reported from Houston and Richer reported from Boston. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana; James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Michelle Price in Las Vegas and Sophia Eppolito and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City.