U.S. Supreme Court to Hear GOP Challenge on Campaign Finance Limits

On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-led challenge to federal campaign finance restrictions that limit coordinated spending between political parties and individual candidates. The case, initiated in 2022 by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), then-Senator J.D. Vance, and former Representative Steve Chabot, contests the constitutionality of these spending limits, arguing they infringe upon First Amendment free speech rights.

The Supreme Court had previously upheld these restrictions in 2001 in Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (Colorado II), ruling that coordinated expenditures by political parties could be limited to prevent circumvention of individual contribution limits and deter corruption. However, the current conservative majority has since overturned several campaign finance regulations, notably in the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, which allowed for unlimited independent expenditures by corporations and unions.

The Justice Department, deviating from its usual practice of defending federal statutes, has declined to support the existing limits, prompting Democratic committees to intervene in defense of the law. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the upcoming term beginning in October.

The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications for the role of money in politics, the balance of power between political parties and candidates, and the broader democratic process in the United States.