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Washington, DC – On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 50-year-old federal campaign finance law that capped how much national political parties could spend in direct coordination with their candidates, ruling that the restrictions violate the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. In a 6–3 decision that split along ideological lines, the Court’s conservative majority invalidated coordinated expenditure limits in the post-Watergate Federal Election Campaign Act, a statute Congress enacted to regulate the financing of federal political campaigns. The ruling removes long-standing caps on party-funded efforts such as television advertising and other campaign activities conducted in concert with candidates for the House, Senate, and presidency. The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee et al. v. Federal Election Commission et al., arose from a 2022 lawsuit filed in Ohio by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, former Representative Steve Chabot, and JD Vance, who was then running for the U.S. Senate and now serves as vice president. The plaintiffs argued that the coordinated spending limits unconstitutionally restricted political speech and hindered their ability to plan and execute campaign strategy with their own candidates. While a federal appeals court initially upheld the limits set by the Federal Election Commission—ranging from roughly $65,300 to $130,600 for House races and up to $4 million for some Senate contests—the Supreme Court’s decision overturns those constraints for future federal election cycles.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.