A federal court gave Sen. Ted Cruz a big win against the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Courts sided with the Texas senator in a case regarding how much money a politician can raise in a post-election period to pay off loans.

The Hill reports:

Cruz challenged a section of election law that says campaigns cannot pay back more than $250,000 in personal loans through post-election donations. Cruz put $260,000 of his own money into his 2018 reelection campaign and sued the FEC in April 2019 as he attempted to pay off his debt.

In a 31-page ruling, a three-judge panel ruled that the repayment cap, instituted in the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, violated Cruz’s free speech rights.

“Because the government has failed to demonstrate that the loan-repayment limit serves an interest in preventing quid pro quo corruption, or that the limit is sufficiently tailored to serve this purpose, the loan repayment limit runs afoul of the First Amendment,” wrote D.C. Court of Appeals judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee.

“Today’s unanimous decision was a resounding victory for the First Amendment and free speech.  The existing FEC rules benefited incumbent politicians and the super wealthy and they made it harder for challengers to run, and the court rightly struck them down as unconstitutional,” the spokesperson said.

The move is a blow to advocates for stricter campaign finance laws as they believe wealthy donors will be able to wield more power and influence over politicians.