Have Republicans been given a major midterms boost by the Supreme Court?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 July 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
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Summary
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has removed restrictions on campaign spending. It opens a new wave of spending in the midterm elections after voting to remove restrictions on how much political parties may spend on candidates, potentially altering the dynamic of November’s midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Democrats were quick to criticise the judgement as a win for “billionaire donors and special interests” as figures show Republicans are massively outraising the Democrat Party. How will the ruling affect the future of US political campaigns?
While Donald Trump celebrated the ruling as a ‘BIG WIN’ for Republicans, he was less pleased with another of the Court’s rulings which struck down his attempt to end birthright citizenship. The ruling is a major blow to the president’s immigration agenda, but attention has already turned to next steps. Trump wants to see Republicans push forward a new bill in Congress, but members of his party are split on how to proceed.
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
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This episode was made by George Dabby and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
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| 0:23.3 | Hello, it's Anthony, and you're about to hear AmeriCast, and we're delighted to have you with us. |
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| 0:32.1 | That way, you'll never miss an episode. |
| 0:34.4 | Now, on with today. |
| 0:36.5 | The big week of Supreme Court rulings just got bigger. The court ruling on Tuesday that |
| 0:41.1 | political parties in the United States can spend as much as they want on campaign. So the |
| 0:47.8 | ruling removes limits on coordinated spending between candidates and political parties. |
| 0:53.0 | They're fundamentally going to change how money is spent, particularly in congressional elections. And there are, as you know, some congressional elections not far away. So Donald Trump says it's a big win for Republicans. He said that in capital letters. And more importantly, the First Amendment that guarantees freedom of speech. So are we about to |
| 1:12.3 | see an influx of money into the midterm elections? Could it actually swing the pendulum back towards |
| 1:17.7 | the Republican Party? Welcome to Ameriast. Americaast from BBC News. You hear that sound? Oh, I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. |
| 1:31.0 | We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. |
| 1:35.3 | This is a big cover-up, and this administration is engaged in it. |
| 1:38.6 | This guy has Trump arrangement syndrome. |
| 1:40.5 | I have four words for you. |
| 1:46.1 | Turn the volume up. |
| 1:53.7 | Hello, it's Justin in the worldwide headquarters of AmeriCast in London, England. |
| 1:58.3 | And is Anthony in the American headquarters of AmeriCast in Washington, D.C. And let us start by talking money, Anthony. |
... |
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