Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee have asked the Supreme Court to take up a case over how much party committees can contribute in coordination with federal candidates.
The petition, filed last week, seeks to curtail precedent meant to limit excessive campaign spending.
Under the Federal Election Campaign Act signed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972 and amended in 1974, committees face a raft of limitations on receiving and using funds to help elect certain candidates.
“A political party exists to get its candidates elected. Yet Congress has severely restricted how much parties can spend on their own campaign advertising if done in cooperation with those very candidates,” the petition reads.
The petition argues the limits violate the First Amendment.
“And that constitutional violation has harmed our political system by leading donors to send their funds elsewhere, fueling ’the rise of narrowly focused ’super ’PACs’ and an attendant ’fall of political parties’ power’ in the political marketplace, which has contributed to a spike in political polarization and fragmentation across the board,” the petition reads. “All this has caused even stalwart defenders of campaign-finance regulation in general to call for the end of the limits here.”
The law restricts how much party committees can receive from individuals and other committees, and it also caps how much the party committees are able to give to federal candidates.
Currently, a party committee is permitted to give $5,000 during an election. A national party committee and the Senate committee, together, may give $57,800 to a Senate candidate’s campaign.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Mr. Vance and the national GOP committees, prompting them to file their petition with the high court.
It would take four justices to vote in favor of hearing the dispute for oral arguments to be granted.
The case is National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Elections Commission.
The FEC declined to comment on pending litigation.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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