Supreme Court takes up JD Vance effort to lift limits on political spending

A 2022 lawsuit from Republicans including former Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) — now the vice president — is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to eliminate key campaign finance laws, claiming they restrict his free speech.

The Washington Post reported Monday that the Supreme Court announced it would take up the case next term, right before the 2026 midterm election.

It claims that limiting the amount parties can donated to individual candidates violates First Amendment rights.

"Political parties on their own may not give more than $5,000 to a candidate per election cycle, though the national party committees and their corresponding Senate committees may jointly contribute up to $57,800 to a Senate candidate’s run for office," explained the Post.

Separate to that are donations from PACs and Super PACs, however, which campaigns cannot officially coordinate with.

If the High Court rules for the case filed by Vance, it would mean political parties will have the ability to spend unlimited sums, unless other laws or regulations are passed by Congress.

The current spending limits originate from a 1974 post-Watergate law that imposed restrictions on committees working directly with candidates for campaign advertisements, the New York Times reported.

Vance's suit claims that regulating the party's spending and coordination of campaigns is the same as regulating free speech and violates the First Amendment.

In 2010, The Citizens United ruling held that corporations have the same free speech rights as individuals to contribute funds to influence political campaigns and candidates.

Read the full report here.