Supreme Court strikes down long-standing campaign finance restrictions

The provision challenged by Vice President JD Vance and others limits how much party committees can spend in coordination with individual candidates.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down longtime campaign finance rules challenged by Vice President JD Vance that place limits on how much a national political party committee can spend in coordination with individual candidates.

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In a 6-3 ruling authored by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court found that the restrictions violate free speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment, based on the theory that political spending is a form of speech.

The challenge was brought by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the campaigns of two candidates in the 2022 elections: Vance, who was then running as a Republican candidate for the Senate in Ohio, and then-Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican congressman from the same state who lost his re-election bid.