The Supreme Court sided with Republicans for a second time Wednesday in a legal fight over television advertising costs ahead of the midterm elections, drawing dissents from two of the court’s liberal justices.
At issue is a new policy that guarantees party committees, not just candidates, access to cheaper advertising rates. Democrats are challenging the policy.
While the cheaper rate is available to both parties, the ruling gives the most immediate boost to Republican committees, which hold a cash advantage this election cycle and are looking to use the policy as they fight to keep control of Congress.
The Trump administration and the GOP turned to the Supreme Court after lower court judges told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) it needed to act more quickly on the Democrats’ challenge. Doing so would have given Democrats a chance to block the policy before November’s elections.
The justices said that move was “inappropriate under the circumstances.”
“Our system of separation of powers does not allow the Judiciary to meddle in ‘the workings of a coordinate branch of the Government’ in this manner,” the majority wrote.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, both members of the court’s liberal wing, publicly dissented from the order. They did not explain their reasoning.
The dispute centers on a longstanding federal law that requires broadcast stations to offer their lowest available advertising rate to campaigns during the 60 days before a general election.
There is no disagreement that candidates are entitled to the discount. The Trump administration, however, argues that the law also covers political parties and joint fundraising committees.
This marks the second time the fight has landed before the Supreme Court after Democrats won in lower courts.
Last month, the high court ruled over Jackson’s dissent that Democrats had sued too early. The justices said the party needed to at least wait for the FCC to rule on its challenge before taking the matter to court.
The case came right back, however, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit again ruled in favor of Democrats. In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court said the FCC needed to speed up its decision on the Democrats’ challenge because the midterm elections are fast approaching. The court set an Oct. 9 deadline.
Chief Justice John Roberts briefly paused that deadline while the Supreme Court considered whether it should stand.
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters celebrated Wednesday’s decision, accusing Democrats of trying to muzzle the GOP in the final stretch of the campaign.
“Democrats tried to silence Republicans just weeks before Election Day, and the Supreme Court shut them down,” Gruters said in a statement.
Gruters said the RNC played a role in the outcome and vowed to continue the fight.
“The RNC helped stop this blatant attack on political speech, and we’ll keep fighting to protect Republicans’ ability to connect with voters,” he said.
The ruling clears the way for party committees to continue accessing the lower advertising rates as the midterm elections draw near.
