Independent newsroom

Sunday, October 11, 2026

The File

Every claim traces to a primary source. Uncertainty is labeled. Corrections are public.

Supreme Court · Sunday, October 11, 2026

Candidates ask the Supreme Court to lift the pause in the political-ad discount fight

The File desk · Oct 11, 2026, 11:12 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed. The candidates' filing is on the dockets for No. 26A476 and No. 26A477, dated Oct. 10, 2026. As of early Sunday, no ruling was posted.

  • Confirmed

    Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet filed an opposition on Saturday asking the Court to lift the administrative stay.

  • Confirmed

    The Supreme Court's orders page, checked Sunday morning, still showed Oct. 8 as the newest entry. Chief Justice John Roberts's pause remains.

Four Democratic candidates asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to let a federal appeals court's order stand. That order would force the Federal Communications Commission to rule on whether party committees may buy television and radio ads at the cheap rate the law guarantees candidates. Chief Justice John Roberts paused the order Thursday. In their filing, Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet say the commission has been stalling to keep the question out of court until after the Nov. 3 election. They say they are already facing a deluge of party ads bought at candidate rates. They want the pause lifted. As of Sunday morning the justices had not acted.

Friday's story covered Roberts's pause in No. 26A476, the Federal Communications Commission's application. Saturday's filing answers that application and a second one, No. 26A477, from the National Republican Congressional Committee and others. No. 26A477 was docketed Oct. 8. The docket says the chief justice requested a response by 5 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Oct. 10. The opposition brief is captioned Nos. 26A476 and 26A477. Counsel is David R. Fox of Elias Law Group. The brief spells the name Jon Ossoff.

The fight is the

in . In the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election, a station cannot charge a legally qualified candidate more than its lowest rate for the same ad time. The candidates also cite , the part of the that says the full commission must rule on every request to review a staff decision. Their brief quotes the line that every such application shall be passed upon by the commission. They point to the Court's Sept. 4 stay in NRCC v. Brown, No. 26A274, which they say required the commission to resolve every application it receives. They say the commission has been manipulating the timing and content of its review to forestall judicial review. Those sentences are their argument.

They ask the Court to deny the applications, lift the administrative stay, and reinstate the Fourth Circuit's order. That order is a

, a rare court order telling an agency to do something the law requires. It would require a decision on the candidates' application for review. Roberts's Oct. 8 pause remains. The docket, checked at 6:09 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, shows the response filed on Oct. 10 and no later order. The orders page's newest entry is still Oct. 8. This story does not predict when the Court will rule, or whether Roberts will act alone.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Docket, No. 26A476

    Supreme Court of the United States · October 10, 2026

    Response to application from respondent Sherrod Brown, et al. filed.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a476.html

  2. Source 2

    Docket, No. 26A477

    Supreme Court of the United States · October 10, 2026

    Response to application (26A477) requested by The Chief Justice, due by 5 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, October 10, 2026.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a477.html

  3. Source 3

    Respondents' Opposition to Stay Applications, Nos. 26A476 and 26A477

    Counsel for Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet · October 10, 2026

    The Court should deny the Applications, lift the administrative stay, and reinstate the Fourth Circuit’s order requiring the Commission to issue a decision on the Candidates’ Application for Review so that judicial review can occur.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A476/429206/20261010192625955_26A476%20opp.pdf

  4. Source 4

    Roberts pauses an order forcing the FCC to rule on political-ad discounts

    The File · October 9, 2026

    Roberts's order, in FCC v. Sherrod Brown, No. 26A476, says the Oct. 7, 2026, judgement of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, case No. 26-2230, is stayed pending further order of the Chief Justice or of the Court.

    /story/scotus-fcc-brown-political-ad-rates-stay-oct8