Bloomberg Law Campaign Finance Caps & Who Gets the Dog?
Dec 12, 2025
Elections law expert Richard Briffault from Columbia Law School dives into the Supreme Court challenge over federal spending caps for political parties, highlighting the risks of enabling wealthy donors to bypass limits. He discusses the implications of lifting these caps on campaign finance. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Law's Jennifer Kay shares a fascinating custody battle involving Tucker, a golden doodle, revealing how the courts treat pets as property and the importance of preemptive pet ownership agreements. A blend of legal insight and quirky pet drama!
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Court Might Overturn Longstanding Caps
- The Supreme Court is reconsidering federal caps on party coordinated spending, threatening a 25-year precedent from Colorado Republican (2001).
- Removing caps could further erode Congress's ability to limit campaign money and reshape campaign finance law.
Why Parties Have A Special Coordination Rule
- Parties may coordinate spending with candidates but federal law caps such coordinated expenditures to prevent donors from circumventing individual limits.
- Coordinated spending is treated differently from PAC spending because parties receive special coordination permission under the law.
Quid Pro Quo And Cascade Risks
- Liberal justices worry lifting caps creates conduits for wealthy donors to bypass contribution limits and enable quid pro quo risks.
- The decision could be a wedge for further challenges to other campaign finance limits depending on its reasoning.