Supreme Court Halts Lower Court Order on FCC Campaign Ad Rate Policy
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The Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on a lower-court order requiring the FCC to act on a dispute over political advertising rates, a move that may affect funding dynamics ahead of the November elections.
The Supreme Court on Oct. 8 granted a temporary stay that blocks a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order directing the Federal Communications Commission to issue a decision on a contested policy governing radio and television campaign advertising rates. The stay was requested by the Trump administration, and the justices asked Democratic parties to file a response by Oct. 10.
The policy, announced by the FCC in March, extends the statutory requirement that states offer their lowest broadcast rates to "any person who is a legally qualified candidate" to ads run by political parties in coordination with candidates, not only ads paid for directly by candidates. Four Democratic candidates in competitive House and Senate races, including Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, have challenged the interpretation.
In September, the Supreme Court had previously ruled that the appeals court could not block the FCC from completing its internal review of the Democrats’ complaint. The lower court had criticized the FCC for delaying action on the issue until after the midterm elections, describing the agency’s approach as "gamesmanship" and saying it was creating a new rule beyond judicial review.
Republican political committees, which have raised more money than Democratic party committees, could benefit from the high court’s intervention if the policy remains in place, potentially narrowing resource gaps in key contests.
The Justice Department, in an emergency appeal, noted that the FCC is still collecting public comments on the policy and argued that it is reasonable to postpone a decision on campaign-finance rules during an election season.