Washington — Democratic groups are urging the Supreme Court to let them defend federal limits on coordinated spending between campaigns and political committees if the high court agrees to hear a Republican case seeking to ease those restrictions.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed a motion with the Supreme Court on Friday in a case brought by the National Senatorial Campaign Committee against the Federal Election Commission, seeking to challenge the rules limiting how parties and candidates can coordinate political spending. Limits on contributions to parties are generally much higher than restrictions on donations to candidates.
But now the FEC and Justice Department aren’t enforcing those federal limits, with the Trump administration arguing the law is unconstitutional. The Democratic groups are asking the court to allow them to argue in defense of the law if the court agrees to take the case, since the two sides are no longer at odds.
The GOP groups argue that the federal limits restricting parties from coordinating with candidates violate the First Amendment. They made their petition after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled against then-Vice President-elect JD Vance and the GOP committees on the subject, noting that the Supreme Court never overturned a 2001 decision — FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee — keeping the limits in place.
“Democrats won’t stand by and let Republicans pave the way for the ultra-wealthy to rig our democracy,” DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, DNC Chair Ken Martin and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement. “That’s why the DNC, DSCC, and DCCC filed this motion to intervene to protect America’s campaign finance laws. If the United States government won’t defend the law, Democrats will do it for them.”
The Supreme Court hasn’t yet decided whether to hear the case, known as NRSC v. FEC.
