Supreme Court 'arm of the oligarchy' after party spending ruling: Chris Murphy
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on Tuesday accused the Supreme Court of being an “arm of the oligarchy” after it handed down a ruling allowing political parties more freedom to spend money for their candidates.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled it is a violation of the First Amendment to limit the amount of money parties can spend on campaigns with input from candidates. The court determined that free speech protections guarantee the right for “all political parties … to participate more freely and compete more fully in the political process, and to coordinate more closely with their candidates.”
Murphy contended the decision benefited a small number of elites and “gives billionaires special rights to buy our elections.” The senator’s rhetoric comes as he has increasingly embraced socialist-leaning elements of the Democratic Party, swatted back criticism from centrist colleagues when that faction swept the primaries in New York, stoked fears that “this version of capitalism isn’t working,” and called for a “more shared prosperity.”
“It’s important to understand that the Court is now just an arm of the oligarchy,” Murphy posted on X. “This decision strips the people of the right to limit the role of money in politics. It gives billionaires special rights to buy our elections. A precondition of oligarchy.”
Murphy’s attack on the court comes after President Donald Trump has also unleashed on justices, making claims that they were operating under Chinese influence when they blocked his “Liberation Day” tariffs in February. The president predicted in May that justices would rule against his efforts to overhaul birthright citizenship, alleging “our Court System is RIGGED.”
On Tuesday, Murphy also criticized the court as “so so badly broken,” expressing concern over the narrow decision to retain the current interpretation of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. The Connecticut Democrat suggested the 5-4 margin should have been far wider in favor of birthright citizenship.
The court’s ruling on campaign spending centers on limits imposed by Congress through the Federal Election Campaign Act. That has limited the amount of money political parties can spend in coordination with candidates. The limit was up to around $130,000 for House campaigns in 2026 and between $130,600 and $4 million for Senate candidates, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The limits were first challenged in 2022 when Vice President JD Vance was running for reelection in the Senate and argued that contribution limits on coordinated campaign spending between political parties and candidates were unconstitutional.