Supreme Court Considers GOP Bid To Remove Party Spending Caps — A Ruling That Could Reshape Campaign Finance

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is weighing a Republican-led challenge, backed by the Trump administration, to overturn a long-standing limit on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and the presidency. The outcome could substantially change the role of parties and large donors in federal elections.

The case asks the justices to revisit a 2001 decision that upheld a portion of federal campaign law and to invalidate limits on coordinated party expenditures that have been in place for decades. Supporters of the challenge argue the caps are inconsistent with recent high-court decisions that have curtailed other campaign-finance restrictions, including the 2010 Citizens United ruling that opened the door to unlimited independent spending.

Democrats urge the court to preserve the existing limits, saying they prevent wealthy donors from circumventing individual contribution caps by funneling unlimited funds to political parties with the expectation the party will spend the money to benefit specific candidates.

Both the Federal Election Commission and Republican backers have told justices the court should reexamine the restrictions. After the Trump administration joined Republican petitioners in asking the high court to strike down the law, the court appointed an attorney to defend the statute.

Roman Martinez, a veteran Supreme Court advocate appointed to defend the law, proposed an alternative: he suggested the court could avoid a broad constitutional ruling by declaring the case moot. Martinez noted the FEC recently told the justices it believes the provision is unconstitutional and that there is "no credible risk" the agency will try to enforce it, a position that could remove any live controversy.

The lawsuit was filed in Ohio in 2022 by Republican campaign committees for House and Senate candidates and was joined by then-Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and then-Rep. Steve Chabot. If the limits are struck down, parties could coordinate spending with candidates without current statutory caps, potentially allowing much larger, targeted expenditures on behalf of individual campaigns.

Current Limits (2025): Coordinated party-spending limits for Senate races in 2025 range from about $127,200 in several small-population states to nearly $4 million in California. For House contests, the cap is $127,200 in single-representative states and $63,600 in other districts.

Why it matters: A ruling that removes coordinated-spending limits would significantly increase the ability of parties and their largest donors to finance efforts that directly benefit individual candidates, altering campaign dynamics and fundraising strategies ahead of future election cycles.