Supreme Court sides with GOP push for cheaper broadcast ad access
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The Court sent the dispute back to the Federal Communications Commission, preserving a rule that gives Republican candidates and allied fundraising groups a financial edge in the campaign’s final stretch.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower-rate rule for broadcast campaign ads that benefits political parties and their fundraising committees, handing Republicans a useful advantage as the midterm election nears its finish. In an unsigned order, the Court said the matter should be left to the Federal Communications Commission, insisting that the judiciary should stay out of another branch’s internal decisions.
The ruling came after a fast-track appeal filed by the Trump administration and the National Republican Congressional Committee, both of which sought to preserve a Federal Communications Commission notice that expanded the legally mandated lower unit charge—normally available only to “legally qualified” candidates—to parties and joint fundraising committees. The FCC, under Republican control, issued the notice on March 30 without giving a detailed explanation or holding a hearing.
Democratic officials have challenged the change, arguing that the FCC went beyond its authority. The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center called the rule “contrary to the text and purpose of the federal statute and would effectively grant super PACs an advertising discount.” Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, said, “The American public should not have sweeping election-year rule changes forced on them in the dark, on the eve of the election, without a single opportunity for public input.”
Earlier, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of Democrats, but the Supreme Court reversed those decisions, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting. In a separate dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Jackson in opposing the administration’s appeal. The Court’s decision leaves the lower-rate policy in place pending further action by the FCC.