WASHINGTON – Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday temporarily paused a federal appeals court order that required the Federal Communications Commission to rule by Friday on a political advertising challenge involving North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper.
The Oct. 8 administrative stay in Federal Communications Commission v. Sherrod Brown, No. 26A476, puts the Fourth Circuit’s Oct. 7 judgment on hold until Roberts or the Supreme Court issues another order. Roberts directed the challengers to respond to the FCC’s application by 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Fourth Circuit had ordered the FCC to decide by noon Friday an application filed by four Democratic candidates: Cooper, Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and Michigan Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet. The candidates are challenging an FCC policy that makes political parties and certain joint fundraising committees eligible for the lowest broadcast advertising rates that federal law provides to candidates.
Cooper’s participation gives the dispute a direct North Carolina consequence. He is the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat, and the rate policy affects how far party and campaign advertising dollars can reach during the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
The administrative stay does not resolve the underlying dispute or determine whether the FCC policy is lawful. It removes the appeals court’s Friday deadline while the Supreme Court considers the FCC’s request for a longer stay.
Reuters independently reported that the FCC and two Republican campaign committees asked the Supreme Court to halt the lower court’s action. The news service said the disputed policy has allowed party committees to obtain lower television and radio advertising rates during the general-election window.
The case has moved repeatedly between the FCC, the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court. In August, the Fourth Circuit set aside the policy. The Supreme Court paused that ruling in September and said the candidates first had to wait for a final FCC order. When the agency still had not acted, the candidates sought a writ requiring a decision, leading to Wednesday’s deadline order and Thursday’s temporary stay.
Sources
- U.S. Supreme Court docket for No. 26A476
- Fourth Circuit Oct. 7 opinion in No. 26-2230
- Reuters report on the Oct. 8 administrative stay
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Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.