A federal appeals court has rejected a Republican effort to allow political party committees to spend unlimited money on campaigns in coordination with the candidates they support. Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and other plaintiffs argued that current limits on coordinated party expenditures violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. The case was sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by U.S. District Judge Douglas Cole.
In its ruling, the appeals court stated that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2001 decision, which held that these limits do not violate the First Amendment, is still binding. Republicans contended that this decision was based on an incorrect premise and has been undermined by more recent Supreme Court decisions.
However, a majority of judges in the Sixth Circuit upheld the limits, acknowledging that while Republicans made valid points about recent campaign finance rulings, it is ultimately up to the Supreme Court to overrule its own decisions.
U.S. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the majority, stating that until the Supreme Court addresses its 2001 ruling directly, lower courts cannot act independently. He also noted that although Congress has added exemptions to coordinated expenditure limits since then, those changes do not invalidate their constitutionality.
While many judges concurred with Sutton’s opinion or joined his reasoning, U.S. Circuit Judge John Bush suggested revisiting the 2001 decision due to conflicts with recent court rulings and unanswered questions regarding historical precedent.
In dissenting from his colleagues’ views, U.S. Circuit Judge Chad Readler argued that doctrinal developments have displaced previous Supreme Court decisions in rare cases and concluded that spending restrictions from the Federal Election Commission violate free speech rights under more recent legal interpretations.
The Federal Election Commission declined to comment on this ruling while a lawyer representing Vance and other Republican committees did not respond to requests for comment at this time.