Washington | The Supreme Court on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) refused a long-shot request from Pennsylvania Republicans to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the state, delivering an unmistakable rebuke to President Donald Trump in the forum on which he had pinned his hopes.

The Supreme Court's order was all of one sentence, and there were no noted dissents. But it was nonetheless a major setback for Mr Trump and his allies, who have compiled an essentially unbroken losing streak in courts around the nation. They failed to attract even a whisper of dissent in the court's first ruling on a challenge to the outcome of the election.