The Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear a Republican challenge to limits on federal campaign spending in its next term, which will begin in October.
Congress has capped the amount of money parties and campaign organizations can spend on advertising in direct coordination with the candidates, but the justices will hear arguments on whether those caps are legal.
The case, NRSC v. Federal Elections Commission, centers on whether “coordinated party expenditure” limits are unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
The court’s decision in the campaign finance dispute could open the floodgates for coordinated spending into the 2026 midterms elections.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott celebrated the Supreme Court taking up the case.
“The government should not restrict a party committee’s support for its own candidates,” they said. “These coordinated expenditure limits violate the First Amendment, and we appreciate the Court’s decision to hear our case. Coordinated spending continues to be a critical part of winning campaigns, and the NRCC and NRSC will ensure we are in the strongest possible position to win in 2026 and beyond.”
The Democratic National Committee and the two fundraising arms for Senate and House Democrats said on Monday they will fight the GOP effort to get rid of the spending caps, which they said will “sow chaos and fundamentally upend our campaign finance system.”
“We refuse to sit on the sidelines as Trump’s DOJ and the Republican Party attempt to throw out longstanding election laws for their own benefit,” DCCC chair Suzan DelBene, DSCC chair Kirsten Gillibrand and DNC chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “Republicans know their grassroots support is drying up across the country, and they want to drown out the will of the voters.”
“Democrats are jumping in the ring to fight tooth and nail for the American people,” they added.
Coordinated party expenditure limits for 2025 range from $127,200 to $3,946,100 for Senate races, depending on each state’s voting age population. For House nominees in states with only one representative, the limit is $127,200; and for House nominees in all other states, the limit is $63,600.
The Supreme Court on Monday added seven cases to its docket for next term, with more to be announced later this week. In another high-profile case, Cox Communications v. Sony Entertainment Group, the court will consider questions about who bears responsibility for the illicit sharing of copyrighted music over the internet.
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