Supreme Court strikes campaign finance rule in win for Sen. Ted Cruz

The Supreme Court struck down a 20-year-old campaign finance limit aimed at curbing corruption in politics, delivering a win to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority Monday struck down a 20-year-old campaign finance limit aimed at curbing corruption in politics, delivering a win to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who had challenged the federal law.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in an opinion joined by the five other conservative justices, said that caps on a candidate's use of campaign contributions to repay a personal loan to his or her campaign violate First Amendment rights to engage in political speech.

Cruz loaned $260,000 to his reelection campaign in 2018, one day before the vote. After the election, he was unable to recoup the full amount from campaign coffers because the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 set a $250,000 limit and imposes a strict 20-day post-election grace period for repayment.

"This limit on the use of post-election funds increases the risk that candidate loans over $250,000 will not be repaid in full, inhibiting candidates from making such loans in the first place," Roberts wrote.