Will Supreme Court Expand "Money as Speech" Rule and Strike Donation Limits?

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could further expand the reach of its controversial ruling that political spending is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment -- and which could give the one percent even more influence over politics.

Citizens Protest Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision
The Backbone Campaign Uses Light to Protest the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" Ruling

In McCutcheon v. FEC, the Court will hear a challenge to regulations on the total amount a person can contribute to political candidates. The Court's five-person majority in recent years has expressed hostility to limits on expenditures made "independent" of political campaigns, most famously in Citizens United, which struck down limits on corporate independent expenditures and paved the way for Super PACs and the scourge of dark money nonprofits. But the McCutcheon case involves a challenge to limits on how much a person can donate directly to a candidate, which the Court has previously upheld as constitutional.

What Citizens United did to the "independent expenditure" side of campaigns -- unleashing out-of-control spending by Super PACs, trade associations, and dark money nonprofits not officially coordinating with a candidate -- McCutcheon could do to the campaign contribution side.

Post-Citizens United, wealthy donors can now give unlimited amounts to Super PACs, but still must comply with limits on donations to candidates and political parties.

Under current law, individuals may give no more than $2,600 to any one federal candidate running for office and up to $48,600 spread among multiple candidates.

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