Week of March 10 – 14, 2025
Commission meetings and hearings
On March 11 and 13, the Commission met in executive session.
The Commission voted to cancel the open meeting scheduled for March 13.
Advisory Opinions
Request Withdrawn
Advisory Opinion Request 2025-01 (Sherrill) On March 11, the requestor withdrew the request for an advisory opinion.
Supplemental Material Received
Advisory Opinion Request 2025-02 (Democratic Party of Puerto Rico) On March 10, the Commission made public supplemental material from the requestor seeking expedited review of the advisory opinion request.
Enforcement
The Commission made public four closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Search System.
COMPLAINANT: Campaign Legal Center
RESPONDENTS: Big Tent Project Fund (Big Tent Project) and Jonathan Kott
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Big Tent Project and Jonathan Kott, Big Tent Project’s Executive Director, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations (1) by failing to register and report as a political committee, or, in the alternative, by failing to disclose contributors who gave for political purposes and who funded its independent expenditures, and (2) by failing to report certain independent expenditures. The complaint alleged that less than a month after its formation, Big Tent Project reported spending $4,819,713.56 on independent expenditures in opposition to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’s campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
DISPOSITION: On July 13, 2021, the Commission found reason to believe that Big Tent Project violated the Act by failing to register and report as a political committee and by failing to report independent expenditures as a political committee, and initiated an investigation. After considering the circumstances of the matter, on January 14, 2025, the Commission voted to take no further action as to Big Tent Project, dismissed the allegations as to Kott, and closed the file.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Hunter Davis Pace
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that Pace, the former treasurer of the Lafayette County [Mississippi] Democratic Party (the Committee), made unauthorized disbursements by embezzling a total of $14,523.87, including by writing $13,500 in checks to himself and to his corporation and by using a debit card tied to the Committee’s bank account to make ATM withdrawals for personal expenses. Pace also allegedly failed to file the Committee’s 2019 Mid-Year disclosure report and failed to account for his disbursements.
DISPOSITION: On October 13, 2021, the Commission found reason to believe that Pace knowingly and willfully violated the Act by commingling committee funds with personal funds, by failing to keep complete committee financial records, and by failing to file accurate disclosure reports, and initiated an investigation. After considering the circumstances of the matter, on February 10, 2025, the Commission voted to take no further action and closed the file.
COMPLAINANT: Monica Rojas
RESPONDENTS: Brandon Herrera; Brandon Herrera for Congress and Thomas Datwyler, in his official capacity as treasurer (Herrera Committee);BASED PAC and Thomas Datwyler, in his official capacity as treasurer, f/k/a Because Real Americans Never Doubt Our Nation (BRANDON PAC) (the leadership PAC); and Brandon Herrera Victory Committee and Thomas Datwyler, in his official capacity as treasurer (the joint fundraising committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Brandon Herrera, a 2024 candidate for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, the Herrera Committee, the leadership PAC, and the joint fundraising committee violated the Act by using the joint fundraising committee’s funds that were attributable to the leadership PAC to pay for campaign-related activities that should have been paid for by the Herrera Committee, thus causing the leadership PAC to make and the Herrera Committee to receive excessive, unreported in-kind contributions, as well as the joint fundraising committee to violate the rules on joint fundraising. The complaint also alleged that the joint fundraising committee misreported the purpose of disbursements in order to obfuscate their true nature.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the matter.
COMPLAINANT: James P. Curran
RESPONDENTS: Paula Collins for Congress and Jacqueline Manuel, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Paula Collins
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee and Paula Collins converted campaign funds to personal use in violation of the Act. According to the complaint, the Committee made two payments totaling $2,700 to White Pillars, a former bed and breakfast located in Canton, New York now catering to long-term guests, for the rent of a residential property called the Amish Country Inn. The complaint alleged that these payments were for Collins’s personal residence. Collins was a 2024 candidate for New York’s 21st Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Commission made public three closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Search System.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Elect Jim Baird for Congress and Dr. James R. Baird, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to disclose $160,500 in additional disbursements on its 2024 12-Day Pre Primary Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to develop and certify the implementation and distribution of a policy document to be provided to its compliance vendors and staff detailing reporting software input and report reconciliation procedures to ensure timely and accurate reporting, and to pay a civil penalty of $7,475.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Zinke for Congress and Paul Kilgore, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to remedy excessive and prohibited 2022 general election contributions, totaling $49,956.90, within the permissible timeframes.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative participated in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $3,750.
COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPODENT: A Strong Innovation Economy Requires Strong IP Protection and Emory Rogers, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee failed to timely file one 24-Hour Report supporting one independent expenditure totaling $47,033 that was disseminated on June 5, 2024, and disclosed on the Committee’s 2024 July Quarterly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative participated in an FEC training program and pay a civil penalty of $3,525.
Litigation
DCCC v. FEC (Case No. 24-2935) On March 7, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and Combined Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment and in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Democratic National Committee, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. (Case No. 25-587) On March 11, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and a Memorandum in Support of the Motion for Preliminary Injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. On March 14, Defendants President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pamela Bondi filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint and a Memorandum in Support of the Motion to Dismiss the Complaint in the District Court.
Outreach
On March 11 and 12, the Commission hosted a webinar for corporations and their PACs.
Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings
March 25, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
March 27, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to hold an audit hearing and an open meeting.
April 29, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
May 1, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
Upcoming educational opportunities
March 25-26, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.
April 2, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a FECFile webinar for candidate committees.
April 8-9, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for trade associations and their PACs.
For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.
Upcoming reporting due dates
March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2025 Monthly Reporting schedule.
Additional research materials
Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.
Federal election results are available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.
FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.
The Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.
The Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.
The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.
Join the FEC on X and YouTube
Follow @FEC on X to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.
-
- Myles Martin
- Deputy Press Officer
- Myles Martin