Today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a brief in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission to fight back against Republican efforts to rewrite campaign finance laws and eliminate a key barrier to corruption in our elections.
For more than 50 years, the FEC and the Department of Justice under Presidents from both parties – including George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan – have faithfully defended limits on coordinated party expenditures. But earlier this year, the DCCC, DSCC, and DNC were forced to take action in response to the Trump administration’s stunning attempt to overturn settled precedent and refusal to defend the federal election law which sets these limits. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the three committees’ motion to intervene.
DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, and DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:
“Today, the DCCC, DSCC, and DNC are joining forces to defend against corruption in our campaign finance system, fighting back against Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s attempt to spend even more money from billionaires to prop up Republican candidates. We refuse to sit on the sidelines as Republicans attempt to toss out longstanding election laws and tear down our campaign finance system – the latest of Trump’s attempts to dismantle our institutions and weaken our democracy.”
To view the full brief, click here.
Key takeaways:
- This case is about whether the constitution guarantees political parties an unlimited right to subsidize the campaign expenses of federal candidates. It does not.
- In 2001, the Supreme Court held that limits on coordinated party expenditures are constitutional. This remains just as true today as it was then. There is no principled reason for the court to overturn this precedent.
- If the court does overturn its own precedent to strike down coordinated party spending limits, it will fundamentally reshape the campaign finance system in this country and trigger the biggest changes to how House and Senate races are run since the Citizens’ United decision.
Summary of Republicans’ attempt to rewrite election laws for their own benefit:
- The Republican Party has spent decades trying to eliminate reasonable limits on political party expenditures that are coordinated with candidates’ campaigns.
- To date, those efforts have failed at every turn, ensuring a stable, predictable campaign finance structure for party committees and political candidates across the country.
- In May, that equilibrium was severely disrupted. Taking advantage of the FEC’s lack of quorum, Trump’s DOJ abandoned the U.S. Government’s long-held defense of the challenged statute and took the side of the NRSC and NRCC.
- The DNC, DSCC, and DCCC are stepping in and urging the Supreme Court to stop this blatant attempt to rewrite longstanding campaign finance law for the benefit of wealthy Republican donors.
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