The Trump Justice Department is reversing the federal government’s Supreme Court defense of long-standing campaign finance laws and is now urging justices to strike down some of the last remaining limits on election spending.
To defend the law in the upcoming case — which was initially brought by Republicans including now Vice President JD Vance — the court has appointed a former law clerk who worked for Justices Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts. The attorney previously argued against government regulators and the expansive enforcement of anti-bribery laws, as he represented a top business lobbying group now fighting to repeal the campaign finance rule.
Taken together, the moves mean the little-noticed case is being surrounded by conservatives who could deliver the most sweeping campaign finance deregulation since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision opened the door to massive corporate spending and untraceable dark money flowing into the US political system.
Also lining up behind the case are a constellation of powerful conservative groups and US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who are pressing the justices to build on Citizens United and use this narrow and technical legal matter as an opportunity to eliminate what is left of America’s campaign finance restrictions.
“People don’t like how concentrated political money has become,” said Daniel Weiner, who tracks money and elections at the Brennan Center for Justice. “What this case threatens to do is eliminate one of the last meaningful guardrails.”
In National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC, petitioners are asking the high court to strike down a post-Watergate rule that caps how much political parties can spend in direct coordination…
Auteur: Katya Schwenk
