Supreme Court Invalidates Federal Limit on Party-Candidate Campaign Coordination Spending

The Supreme Court has invalidated a long-standing federal restriction on campaign expenditures, determining that political parties are now permitted to spend an unrestricted amount of money in coordination with their federal candidates, provided they adhere to other existing campaign finance regulations.

The decision, reached with a 6-3 vote, came in the case titled National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission. The Court's conservative justices formed the majority, ruling against the specific limitation found within the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).

"In short, constitutional text, history, and precedent establish that the political-party coordinated-expenditure limits violate the First Amendment," Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated in the majority opinion. He further emphasized the impartiality of the ruling, adding, "Importantly, by holding FECA’s political-party coordinated-expenditure restrictions unconstitutional, the Court’s decision today treats all political parties equally."

The lawsuit challenging these spending limits was originally filed in 2022 by several parties, including then-Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), alongside the Republican senatorial and congressional committees.