Supreme Court sides with Trump in war over TV ad rate for midterms

The high court’s emergency docket is increasingly playing a role in partisan disputes over the upcoming election as Republicans and Democrats try to gain an advantage in the midterms.WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court sided with Republicans for a second time Wednesday in the ongoing fight over low-cost rates for television ads ahead of the midterm elections.After the justices previously allowed political party committees to take advantage of discounts typically reserved for candidates, an appellate court ordered the Federal Communications Commission to act on Democrats’ challenge to a rule change.The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to intervene again to block the order, claiming it intruded on the nation’s electoral process.The lowest unit charge requirements let legally qualified candidates buy campaign advertising on broadcast television and radio networks at cheaper rates than outside groups. In March, the FCC’s media bureau issued a public notice that political party committees and joint fundraising committees also qualified for the discount.While the spending rules apply equally to both parties, the March guidance could have boosted Republicans, whose party committees tend to raise more money than individual candidates. The opposite is true for Democrats, whose candidates typically raise more funds.Democratic candidates in battleground states — including Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper — challenged the new policy guidance through a petition to the FCC, but the agency has yet to issue a decision.Without action from the FCC, the candidates took their challenge to federal court, where the Fourth Circuit shot down the public notice and determined election ad discounts are just for candidates.But last month the Supreme Court said it was too early for federal courts to intervene. In a per curiam opinion, the justices said the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee would likely face irreparable harm if the appeal court’s ruling was upheld, citing the committees’ claims that broadcasters were already rescinding favorable rates.Democratic candidates asked the Fourth Circuit to order the FCC to issue a decision on their application. After public comments on the application closed, the appeals court agreed to do so, instructing the FCC to rule by Oct 9.Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, intervened before the due date, issuing an administrative stay at the Trump administration’s behest. The government said the Fourth Circuit’s order “demands at gunpoint an agency decision,” claiming it would be irreparably harmed without the court’s intervention.Democratic candidates retorted that the FCC was engaging in “blatant procedural trench warfare to stave off judicial review of an unlawful agency directive.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads