The Supreme Court on Thursday once again quickly stepped into a legal clash regarding the rules governing the price of political television ads ahead of the midterms.
The Trump administration and Republican campaign committees asked the justices to halt a ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which gave the Federal Communications Commission until noon Friday to resolve a challenge from Democratic Senate nominees to the agency’s March guidance granting political party committees access to lower ad rates when coordinating with candidates.
Chief Justice John Roberts quickly did so — at least for now. He paused that 4th Circuit deadline while the Supreme Court considers the Trump request, and set a deadline of 5 p.m. Saturday for a response from the Democratic Senate nominees who brought the case, including Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
The Trump administration, in an application to the court Thursday, called the initial 4th Circuit deadline a “flagrant abuse” of authority, pointing out that the Supreme Court last month stepped in to halt an earlier 4th Circuit ruling that paused the FCC guidance.
Trending
“In sum, just as the Fourth Circuit seriously erred when it first tried to leap-frog the Commission’s decision, it has now seriously erred in trying to short-circuit the Commission’s deliberations,” the Justice Department wrote.
In the lead-up to primary and general elections, candidates pay lower rates for television advertising than political parties — which can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from a single donor — or outside groups such as super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money but cannot legally coordinate with candidates.
In June, the Supreme Court eliminated long-standing limits on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates, setting up the legal clash between the two political parties over whether they should be able to access the lower rate.
Last month, after the Supreme Court intervened to overturn the lower court’s pause, the FCC requested public comments on the Democratic nominees’ challenge on an expedited timeline, which closed Sept. 30. But because a broadcast association last month filed a separate challenge to the guidance with “overlapping issues,” the FCCsaid it was consolidating the challenge and set another comment deadline of Oct. 19.
In the 2-1 decision on Wednesday, the 4th Circuit accused the FCC of “dragging its feet” and ordered the agency to resolve the dispute.
“We have heretofore accorded the FCC a substantial amount of grace, but its gamesmanship must end,” the judges wrote.
Republican party committees hold a significant cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts this election cycle, while Democratic candidates have outraised their Republican opponents in certain hotly contested races.
Political spending is picking up ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, and access to lower-cost television ad rates could help Republicans close the fundraising gap.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee also asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to intervene before the deadline.
“If the case for a stay was strong the first time around, it’s open and shut now,” the party committees wrote in a separate emergency application.
The Supreme Court on Thursday once again quickly stepped into a legal clash regarding the rules governing the price of political television ads ahead of the midterms.
The Trump administration and Republican campaign committees asked the justices to halt a ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which gave the Federal Communications Commission until noon Friday to resolve a challenge from Democratic Senate nominees to the agency’s March guidance granting political party committees access to lower ad rates when coordinating with candidates.
Chief Justice John Roberts quickly did so — at least for now. He paused that 4th Circuit deadline while the Supreme Court considers the Trump request, and set a deadline of 5 p.m. Saturday for a response from the Democratic Senate nominees who brought the case, including Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
The Trump administration, in an application to the court Thursday, called the initial 4th Circuit deadline a “flagrant abuse” of authority, pointing out that the Supreme Court last month stepped in to halt an earlier 4th Circuit ruling that paused the FCC guidance.
“In sum, just as the Fourth Circuit seriously erred when it first tried to leap-frog the Commission’s decision, it has now seriously erred in trying to short-circuit the Commission’s deliberations,” the Justice Department wrote.
In the lead-up to primary and general elections, candidates pay lower rates for television advertising than political parties — which can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from a single donor — or outside groups such as super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money but cannot legally coordinate with candidates.
In June, the Supreme Court eliminated long-standing limits on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates, setting up the legal clash between the two political parties over whether they should be able to access the lower rate.
Last month, after the Supreme Court intervened to overturn the lower court’s pause, the FCC requested public comments on the Democratic nominees’ challenge on an expedited timeline, which closed Sept. 30. But because a broadcast association last month filed a separate challenge to the guidance with “overlapping issues,” the FCCsaid it was consolidating the challenge and set another comment deadline of Oct. 19.
In the 2-1 decision on Wednesday, the 4th Circuit accused the FCC of “dragging its feet” and ordered the agency to resolve the dispute.
“We have heretofore accorded the FCC a substantial amount of grace, but its gamesmanship must end,” the judges wrote.
Republican party committees hold a significant cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts this election cycle, while Democratic candidates have outraised their Republican opponents in certain hotly contested races.
Political spending is picking up ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, and access to lower-cost television ad rates could help Republicans close the fundraising gap.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee also asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to intervene before the deadline.
“If the case for a stay was strong the first time around, it’s open and shut now,” the party committees wrote in a separate emergency application.
Author
