Trump administration brings fight over political ad rates back to Supreme Court

The Trump administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to chastise a lower court for intervening — again — in a legal fight between the two major political parties over who can access cheaper television advertising rates in the lead-up to an election.

The Supreme Court sided with the GOP last month , ruling that Democrats went to court too early and needed to wait for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review their arguments.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has warned the FCC is now “dragging its feet” to avoid judicial review as November’s contests approach. The judges ordered the FCC to respond to Democrats’ arguments by noon EDT Friday so things can move forward.

“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,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote to the Supreme Court.

Sauer asked for an immediate intervention ahead of the Friday deadline. He wants the justices to make clear to the 4th Circuit they can’t compel the FCC to act and shouldn’t intervene on the issue again ahead of the midterms.

Republican Party committees quickly backed Sauer’s ask.

“If the case for a stay was strong the first time around, it’s open and shut now,” they wrote in their own emergency appeal , also filed Thursday.

The request heads to Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency matters arising from the 4th Circuit by default. Though he could ultimately refer it to the full court for a vote, Roberts has authority to immediately step in as a singular justice to block Friday’s deadline.

The legal battle concerns a federal mandate that broadcast stations offer their lowest available advertising rate to campaigns in the 60 days preceding a general election. Everyone agrees candidates get the discount, but whether political parties and joint fundraising committees can, too, has come under question.

Republicans argue yes — hoping it will help them put their cash advantage to better use — while Democrats argue no.

After the 4th Circuit agreed with Democrats at an earlier stage of the case, Republicans brought the case to the Supreme Court’s emergency docket.

Over liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent, the majority ruled last month that Democrats couldn’t seek the judiciary’s help until after the FCC resolved their petition seeking review of the ad policy. It meant Republican campaign arms could access the discount in the meantime.

It wasn’t a final decision on the actual legality of the policy, however, and the case headed back to the 4th Circuit for more proceedings. On Wednesday, the 4th Circuit ruled 2-1 that the FCC needed to move along given the fast-approaching elections.

“The FCC’s actions are not only unfortunate — but also an assault on our Constitution’s separation of powers. Put simply, the FCC has thumbed its nose at Congress’s statutory commands and the settled principle of judicial review,” the majority wrote.