U.S. Supreme Court backs Ted Cruz in campaign finance dispute
2022.05.16 17:37
FILE PHOTO: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations to examine U.S.-Russia policy on Capitol Hill, Washington, U.S. December 7, 2021. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday further undermined campaign finance restrictions and handed a victory to Senator Ted Cruz, striking down as a free speech violation part of a bipartisan 2002 law challenged by the Texas Republican that federal officials had called an anti-corruption provision.
The justices, in a 6-3 ruling, found that a $250,000 cap on the amount of money political candidates can be reimbursed after an election for personal loans to their own campaigns ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech by unjustifiably burdening political expression.
Cruz had sued the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the agency that enforces election laws.
