The legal battle over the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes is officially moving forward. In a major procedural win for Donald Trump, the Florida Supreme Court refused to halt his defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board, clearing the path for the case to proceed in state court. In a short, decisive order, the justices said they would not take jurisdiction — and would not reconsider the matter — effectively removing the final hurdle that had slowed the case.

Trump’s lawsuit challenges the Pulitzer Board’s decision to honor The New York Times and The Washington Post for their reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 election, coverage he insists was “false,” “defamatory,” and part of a broader “Russia hoax.” The Pulitzer Board tried to delay the case over concerns about subjecting a sitting president to state-level litigation, but both the trial court and a Florida appeals court rejected that argument, pointing to Clinton v. Jones — the landmark ruling confirming that a president has no immunity from civil suits unrelated to official duties. With the Board still standing by its awards and offering no public comment, the case now heads back to the trial court for the next phase.