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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas grilled prominent left-leaning lawyer Marc Elias this week about a campaign finance law, joining several other conservative justices in voicing skepticism about the law’s restrictions on certain types of political donations.
Thomas’ questions centered on a Federal Election Campaign Act provision that limits how much money state and national political parties can spend when coordinating with specific candidates.
Republicans who brought the lawsuit argued that the coordinated political spending is protected speech and should not be limited by Congress, while Elias, a prolific election lawyer, argued to the high court that Congress has a right to cap those expenses.
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas appears before swearing in Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Thomas and Elias appeared at odds during oral arguments, as Thomas questioned why coordinated political spending between parties and candidates should face limits — particularly when it covers routine campaign expenses like hotels or food.
“Just so I’m clear, is there any First Amendment interest in coordinated expenditures?” Thomas asked.
Elias replied “yes,” but said a party paying an individual campaign’s bills was “symbolic speech” that is not fully protected and should be subject to standard contribution limits.
“I still don’t understand what you’re saying,” Thomas told Elias. “If the party coordinates with the candidate and pays the bill, does that have a First Amendment protection or is it simply, as you say, a bill-paying exercise?”
“It is speech,” Elias said, but he said court precedent says the bill payment “is treated as a contribution, and, therefore, though it is speech, it is subject to…
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