Priebus: ‘I don’t think we should have caps at all’

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Tuesday there should be no caps on donations to political parties. 

“I don’t think we should have caps at all,” Priebus said on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show Tuesday. 

{mosads}It was unclear if he was only talking about caps on donations to party committees or if his comments extended to caps on donations to candidates as well.  

Priebus said he would “absolutely” look to challenge the caps in further court cases after the Supreme Court struck down the total aggregate limit an individual can donate to party committees and individual candidates during an election cycle. 

“Party committees are the best, most responsible place to spend your money outside of the candidates, and we were restricted,” he said. 

He said the case last week, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, was a crucial decision in getting party committees on the same playing field as many outside groups, which can receive unlimited donations. 

The Republican National Committee helped push the McCutcheon case through the court. Priebus said he would look to challenge all caps in the courts. 

“Absolutely, I would,” he said. “And I would look to another, and I would look to cases that allow us to raise soft money, and I would look to cases that allow us to raise money for the conventions, and but disclose it all.”

Priebus, however, expressed caution about total disclosure, saying there are instances in which individuals and businesses are targeted because their contributions are disclosed. 

“Then, now you’re suppressing free speech through disclosure,” he said. 

Democrats have bemoaned the Supreme Court decision. On Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton predicted that a smaller and smaller slice of the public would control elections. 

“With the rate the Supreme Court is going, there will only be three or four people in the whole country that have to finance our entire political system by the time they are done,” said at an event in Oregon, according to CNN.