| July 6, 2026
Latest Developments: U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Limits on Political Parties’ Coordinated Spending The Court struck down federal limits on political party spending in coordination with individual candidates, holding that the limits in the Federal Election Campaign Act violate the First Amendment. The 6-3 opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh considered whether the limits were permissible to prevent individuals from circumventing candidate contribution limits, but held that they were not “narrowly tailored” and that “earmarking and disclosure laws” are available, less-speech restrictive tools. In the dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that “the result will be . . . a legal regime increasingly unable to stop political corruption, and thus to preserve our institutions’ democratic legitimacy.” NRSC v. FEC; NY Times – U.S. Supreme Court Campaign Finance Decision and NY Times – Opinion Gives GOP Edge in Midterms Authors Call for State Prosecutors to Prosecute Bribery Cases As Department of Justice Scales Back In “Abdication of Public Corruption Enforcement Threatens Democratic Health,” two senior fellows from U.C. Berkeley’s Edley Center on Law and Democracy analyze “the Justice Department’s historic role in prosecuting bribery cases on the state and local level and its unfortunate deprioritization of that work in the current administration.” The authors note the federal government’s “cessation of such work in the last year and a half” and call upon “state prosecutors to take up the important mantle of ensuring honest services for their communities.” Abdication of Public Corruption Enforcement Threatens Democratic Health – Cooney and Gaston
Super PACs Spending More than Double Than in 2024, But Donors Aren’t Disclosed Politico analyzed data from the Federal Election Commission to find Super PACs have spent more than $48 million so far on House and Senate primaries this year, more than double the total at this point in the 2024 cycle, yet did not have to disclose their donors before the elections were held. Politico – Super PACs Campaign Finance 2026 Primaries
The “Revolving Door” is Open for Ex-San Diego County Employees Although most jurisdictions restrict government employees from participating in certain work in their jurisdictions for at least one year after leaving public service, San Diego County is an exception, raising ethics concerns. The San Diego Union-Tribune analyzed the “revolving door” in which County staff promptly became lobbyists for private clients after leaving their government jobs. Union-Tribune – Staff turn to lobbying for private clients amid lax rules Events and Reminders: The Washington Public Disclosure Commission has launched a redesigned online filing system for independent expenditures and electioneering communications. You can find it here: https://my.pdc.wa.gov/my-pdc/ Minnesota’s Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board reminds those active in the state that data privacy protection laws and disclaimer requirements changed in May. For more information see, Review of Changes. Updated guides for disclaimer requirements are available for campaign material that is not an independent expenditure at Campaign Material Disclaimer, and for material that is an independent expenditure at Independent Expenditure Disclaimer. In Case You Missed It: Administration Seeks to Impose New Political Criteria on Grants A 400-page blueprint revealed President Trump’s ambitions to impose new political criteria on grants, with the ability to block them if they don’t satisfy what the blueprint calls “anti-American” values. NY Times – Budget Plan for Grants President Said “Nobody Cared” About Conflicts of Interest In a January interview, the President said he found out “nobody cared” about conflicts of interest he might have in office, months before it was disclosed this past week that he gained an estimated $1.4 billion from his cryptocurrency activities in his first year back in office. NY Times – Trump Money and Conflicts of Interest Trump Ballroom Donors Win $50 Billion in Contracts in Six Months A report from the nonprofit group Public Citizen – “Ballroom Billions” – found that more than half of the publicly identified donors to the President’s ballroom project have won new or expanded federal contracts worth more than $50 billion in the past six months – and most are either facing federal enforcement actions or had the actions suspended by the President since the start of his second term. Public Citizen – Ballroom Billions and Washington Post – Ballroom Donors Won $50B in Contracts Is Hawaii’s Act 11 Really a Response to Citizens United? An opinion piece considers Hawaii’s Act 11 and concludes it presents a First Amendment question extending beyond Citizens United, contending “the new law raises the issue of whether Hawaii can use its corporate laws to prevent nonprofits, unions, trade associations, civic groups, and other organizations—even unincorporated associations of people — from advocating for or against candidates, political parties, and ballot measures.” Expert Analysis – Institute for Free Speech – Hawaii’s Act 11 and Citizens United |