The Supreme Court will revisit a decision restricting political party coordination with candidates, potentially reshaping the landscape of campaign finance under the lens of First Amendment rights.
At a Glance
- The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a major case challenging federal campaign finance laws.
- The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC, challenges the long-standing limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their candidates.
- Republican challengers argue the limits are an unconstitutional violation of their First Amendment free speech rights.
- The decision could overturn a 24-year-old precedent and dramatically reshape how political campaigns are financed.
Supreme Court to Revisit Campaign Finance Limits
The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday, June 30, 2025, that it will hear a major case challenging the federal restrictions on how much a political party can spend in coordination with its own candidates’ campaigns. The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) v. Federal Election Commission, gives the court’s conservative majority an opportunity to further deregulate the nation’s campaign finance system.
The lawsuit is a direct challenge to a 2001 Supreme Court decision, FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee, which upheld the coordinated spending limits as a necessary tool to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption.
A First Amendment Free Speech Challenge
The Republican challengers, led by the NRSC, argue that the decades-old limits are an unconstitutional infringement on their First Amendment rights. In their petition to the court, highlighted by SCOTUSblog, they claim the rules prevent parties from engaging in core political speech and providing effective support to their own nominees.
The case comes to the high court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the spending limits in 2024. However, in that ruling, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton noted that there are “several ways in which tension has emerged between” the 2001 precedent and more recent Supreme Court decisions on political speech.
Democrats Step In to Defend the Law
In an unusual move, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will be defending the federal law in court. The Department of Justice under the Trump administration has declined to defend the long-standing regulation, siding with the Republican challengers.
The DNC has promised to “provide a vigorous and informed defense of the coordinated expenditure limits now under attack,” as reported by MSNBC. The case sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle when the court hears arguments in its next term. A ruling in favor of the Republican challengers could fundamentally alter the dynamics of American political campaigns, potentially allowing for a massive new influx of coordinated party money into elections.
