NRSC v. FEC | Money, Messaging, and Muzzling: The First Amendment Fight Over Party Coordination | Argument Date: 12/9/15 | Docket Link: Here
Question Presented: Whether the First Amendment permits limits on the amount of money that the national committee of a political party may contribute to political candidates in the form of coordinated expenditures.
Overview
This episode examines National Republican Senatorial Committee versus Federal Election Commission, a landmark campaign finance case that could fundamentally reshape how political parties operate in federal elections, featuring the extraordinary situation where the Federal Election Commission itself now agrees with the challengers that coordinated party expenditure limits violate the First Amendment. The case centers on limits that cap how much money party committees can spend in coordination with their candidates, creating a constitutional clash over political speech rights and anti-corruption measures. With the government switching sides post-election, the Court appointed an outside lawyer to defend the law while Democratic Party committees intervened to provide the opposition the case desperately needed.
Episode Roadmap
Opening: Constitutional Chaos in Campaign Finance
• Extraordinary procedural posture: FEC agrees with challengers after Trump administration
• Court-appointed amicus defending law that government attacks
• Democratic Party committees intervene to create adversity
Background: The Law Under Attack
• Section 30116(d) limits coordinated expenditures by national party committees
• Distinction between coordinated spending (capped) versus independent expenditures (unlimited)
• Republican committees challenge limits as First Amendment violations
Constitutional Framework: Political Speech Rights
• First Amendment's protection of political speech as "core" protected expression
• Tension between anti-corruption interests and political participation rights
• Role of Colorado II precedent from 2001 in current doctrine
Procedural History: From Ohio to the Supreme Court
• 2022 filing by NRSC, NRCC, Vance, and Chabot
• Sixth Circuit en banc ruling 10-1 upholding limits under Colorado II
• Multiple judges expressing doubt about precedent's continued validity
The Cert Grant and Unusual Alignment
• June 2025 certiorari grant with intervention allowed
• Government position reversal creates constitutional anomaly
• Roman Martinez appointed as court-appointed amicus curiae
Episode Highlights
Petitioners' Arguments (NRSC, NRCC, Vance, Chabot):
• Core Speech Violation: Coordinated expenditure limits severely burden political speech at the heart of First Amendment protection, creating "stifling effect on the ability of the party to do what it exists to do"
• Colorado II Must Fall: 2001 precedent became "outlier in First Amendment jurisprudence" after Citizens United, McCutcheon, and Cruz strengthened political speech protection
• No Anti-Corruption Basis: Limits serve no legitimate corruption prevention purpose since parties cannot "bribe" their own candidates whose platform they share
Respondent-Intervenors' Arguments (DNC, DSCC, DCCC):
• Precedent Preservation: Colorado II remains "rock solid" because coordinated expenditures function as contributions, which receive lesser constitutional protection under established doctrine
• Circumvention Prevention: Modern joint fundraising committees allow mega-donors to route "six- or seven-figure checks" through parties to specific candidates, creating corruption potential
• Systemic Stability: Overruling Colorado II would destabilize entire campaign finance framework and potentially eliminate distinction between contributions and expenditures
United States Arguments (Supporting Petitioners):
• Doctrinal Evolution: Post-Colorado II cases "repudiated its analysis of political parties' relationship with candidates, its definition of corruption, and its lenient standard of review"
• Arbitrary Restrictions: Current limits contain inexplicable exemptions (state committees can fund get-out-the-vote efforts, nationals cannot) that undermine any anti-corruption rationale
• Changed Landscape: Donors now have "abundant alternative avenues" like Super PACs that didn't exist in 2001, plus improved disclosure makes corruption detection more effective
Court-Appointed Amicus Arguments (Roman Martinez):
• Jurisdictional Defects: Case should be dismissed as moot since "Executive Branch agrees with petitioners that Section 30116(d) is unconstitutional" and no enforcement threat exists
• Colorado II Correctly Decided: Applied proper "closely drawn" test from Buckley because coordinated expenditures include paying candidate bills, which is "virtually indistinguishable" from direct cash contributions
• Destabilizing Consequences: Overruling would "unsettle stable law by immediately calling into question multiple tenets of the longstanding campaign-finance framework"
StakesIf Petitioners Win:
• National and congressional party committees gain unlimited coordinated spending rights with candidates
• Political parties could regain prominence in federal campaigns after decades of declining influence relative to Super PACs
• Potential domino effect threatening other campaign finance restrictions including contribution limits
If Respondents/Amicus Win:
• Preserves existing regulatory framework distinguishing between contributions and expenditures
• Maintains corruption prevention measures designed to prevent mega-donor circumvention
• Upholds Congressional authority to regulate campaign finance for anti-corruption purposes
Oral Argument Preview
Key Questions to Watch:
• Constitutional Line-Drawing: How do Justices react to argument that parties deserve special First Amendment rights that other groups lack?
• Corruption Analysis: Do Justices buy argument that parties cannot corrupt their own candidates, or worry about circumvention scenarios involving mega-donors?
• Stare Decisis Weight: How seriously do Justices take precedent concerns versus arguments that Colorado II conflicts with subsequent First Amendment developments?
• Practical Workability: What questions arise about enforcing distinctions between different types of political actors if parties get unlimited coordination rights?
• Jurisdictional Issues: Do Justices engage with mootness arguments given government's position switch, or proceed directly to merits?
Broader Implications:
• Case could reshape competitive balance between political parties and outside spending groups
• Decision may affect fundamental distinction between contributions and expenditures that underlies modern campaign finance law
• Ruling could influence how future administrations defend laws they inherited from predecessors
Referenced Cases:
• FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (Colorado II) | 533 U.S. 431 (2001) | Central precedent upholding coordinated party expenditure limits under "closely drawn" scrutiny
• Buckley v. Valeo | 424 U.S. 1 (1976) | Foundational case establishing contribution versus expenditure distinction and "closely drawn" test for contribution limits
• Citizens United v. FEC | 558 U.S. 310 (2010) | Strengthened First Amendment protection for political speech and corporate expenditures
• McCutcheon v. FEC | 572 U.S. 185 (2014) | Struck down aggregate contribution limits and enhanced scrutiny of campaign finance restrictions
• FEC v. Cruz | 596 U.S. 289 (2022) | Recent case applying heightened scrutiny to campaign finance law and emphasizing anti-corruption justification requirements
