The Supreme Court struck down a longstanding federal restriction on political party spending Tuesday, ruling that parties may now spend unlimited sums in coordination with their own candidates, as long as they otherwise comply with existing campaign finance law.
The 6-3 decision in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission aligned every conservative justice in the majority and handed Republicans a sweeping First Amendment victory on the final opinion day of the court’s term.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion.
“In short, constitutional text, history, and precedent establish that the political-party coordinated-expenditure limits violate the First Amendment,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Importantly, by holding FECA’s political-party coordinated-expenditure restrictions unconstitutional, the Court’s decision today treats all political parties equally.”
The case challenged a provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act that capped how much a national party could spend in direct coordination with federal candidates. The Republican National Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee brought the original suit in 2022, joined at the time by then-Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Under the old rule, coordinated expenditure limits varied by race size and were adjusted for inflation, but still barred parties from fully integrating their resources with their candidates’ campaigns. The court’s ruling removes those ceilings entirely.
The decision expands what political parties may now lawfully do with their own money when working alongside candidates. Parties must still comply with contribution limits and disclosure requirements under federal law.
The three liberal justices dissented. No statements from the minority were immediately available.
