In a remarkable move that could fuel more campaign spending, the Justice Department has called on the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse itself to allow political parties to spend unlimited amounts in coordination with candidates and political campaigns.
The DOJ said in a newly revealed filing with the court that current spending caps violate the First Amendment and essentially mute political parties.
The case, the National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, could have the biggest impact on campaign spending since the court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling that lifted caps on corporations and outside groups.
If the new Republican-led effort wins the day, political parties would be allowed to spend unlimited amounts in coordination with candidates. Currently, parties are greatly limited in coordinated spending efforts.
Democratic groups oppose the change but would likely welcome it if the court reverses its 2001 decision to let Congress place spending limits on the parties.
The court has already said it will consider the request, a sign it is ready to flip, according to legal experts.
Still, one campaign finance lawyer said, “It’s not every day people walk into the court and ask it point-blank to reverse itself.”
In the new 68-page filing provided by the FEC, Solicitor General John Sauer and his team argued that the old spending limits have become irrelevant in the days of billion-dollar presidential campaigns and multimillion-dollar House and Senate races. And, as a result, the First Amendment rights of party groups are being limited.
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“Take a political party that wants to run an advertisement for a congressional candidate but has already reached the statutory cap on coordinated spending. A political party can easily find itself in that predicament because modern campaigns cost millions of dollars but the cap is as low as $61,800,” Sauer said in the filing.
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Worse, he added, not being allowed to coordinate spending and advertising can have disastrous results. “A party that fails to consult its candidate runs a serious risk of disseminating speech that is ‘unhelpful to, if not entirely disfavored by, the candidate.’”
Campaign finance lawyers said the current rules essentially cut parties out of campaigns while letting corporations and super PACs have a huge impact.