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Supreme Court Blocks FCC Ad-Rate Ruling Ahead Midterms

By Drooid · Oct 15, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Supreme Court Blocks FCC

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a 7-2 stay, blocking the Fourth Circuit order on FCC ad rates.
The stay allows parties and joint fundraising committees to keep discounted broadcast rates through the Nov. 3 midterms.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sued the FCC.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) joined the lawsuit.

Summary

Judge Reyes Halts

Judge Ana Reyes ordered a halt to tree cutting at East Potomac Golf Course until Oct. 26.
Reyes accused the Justice Department of deceiving the court about cutting over 400 trees.
Superintendent Kevin Griess testified that 430 trees were felled and about 300 remain to cut.
The order requires three business days written notice before any irreversible modification to the golf course.

History

Historical Context

NEPA, signed by President Nixon on Jan 1 1970 after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and Carson’s Silent Spring, forced agencies to prepare impact statements; by 1975 EPA had reviewed 1,200 filings and Supreme Court upheld it in Sierra Club v. Morton (1978). The Court’s 7-2 stay of the Fourth Circuit’s FCC rate order and Judge Ana Reyes’s injunction protecting East Potomac trees revive agency-authority dispute.

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Supreme Court Blocks FCC

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a 7-2 stay, blocking the Fourth Circuit order on FCC ad rates.
The stay allows parties and joint fundraising committees to keep discounted broadcast rates through the Nov. 3 midterms.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sued the FCC.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) joined the lawsuit.

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