GOP eyes legal challenges as Harris assumes control of Biden’s war chest

The issue, involving tens of millions of dollars, could get tied up in the Federal Election Commission and then in court.

As President Biden bowed out of the presidential race Sunday and endorsed Vice President Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee, he immediately dashed off a social media post asking his backers to show their support by giving to the Biden-Harris campaign committee.

“If you’re with us, donate to her campaign here,” he wrote, posting a link to an ActBlue page accepting contributions for the Biden for President campaign.

But as Biden tries to hand over the committee’s millions in remaining cash to Harris, Republican lawyers and operatives are saying “not so fast.”

For weeks, Democratic lawyers and operatives — who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party deliberations — had argued that elevating Harris to be the Democratic nominee was the easiest solution for the party. Rather than encouraging an array of candidates to compete in an open convention and setting off a scramble for financial support, they reasoned that anointing Harris would prevent a lot of legal headaches because her name is already on the paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission that organized the Biden campaign committee.

Within hours of Biden announcing his decision, the committee tried to make the handoff to Harris official — submitting an amended filing to the FEC changing its name to “Harris for President.”

Several campaign finance lawyers aligned with Republicans argue that the campaign does not have legal authority to do that — and that the maneuver is all but certain to be challenged before the FEC or in a court of law.

Charlie Spies, a prominent GOP campaign finance lawyer, said that both Biden and Harris would have to have been officially nominated by the Democratic Party at its convention next month before any kind of handoff could occur. In that situation, he noted, a provision in campaign finance law allows a vice-presidential nominee to take control of the campaign’s depository if the presidential nominee withdraws.

“Biden can’t transfer his money to Harris because it was raised under his own name, and there is no legal mechanism for it to have been raised jointly with Harris before they were their party’s nominees,” said Spies, who advised the Republican National Committee before stepping down from that role earlier this year.

The six-member FEC panel that would rule on such matters has long been evenly split between Republicans and Democrats — often preventing campaign finance rules from being enforced. Its partisan divide raises the possibility that commissioners could deadlock on the question of whether Harris can assume control of the campaign’s cash. Were that to happen, several lawyers said, the potential challenge would probably land in court.

“Replacing a presidential candidate and handing over his committee to someone else is unprecedented under current campaign finance law,” Sean Cooksey, a Republican who is the FEC chairman, said Sunday. “It raises a host of open questions about whether it is legal, what limits apply and what contributors’ rights are.”

Dara Lindenbaum, an FEC commissioner appointed by Biden, offered the opposite view: “The Biden for President Committee is the campaign committee for President Biden and Vice President Harris,” she said. “The funds stay with her so long as she remains on the ticket.”

Biden’s decision to step aside and allow a younger generation of Democrats to lead the party is likely to ignite a flood of contributions. For Democrats, that gold rush of cash could not come at a more important time. New FEC filings on Saturday night showed that Donald Trump’s committees reported more cash on hand than Biden’s — erasing the president’s once enormous cash advantage, with Biden’s effort burning through cash far more quickly than Trump’s.

Though there is excitement about Harris as the party’s potential nominee among some voters, delegates and donors, others still hope to see a robust competition for the nomination at or before the Democratic National Convention in August. An array of younger Democratic stars have been mentioned as potential competitors for the top slot or the vice-presidential slot, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

In her own presidential campaign four years ago, Harris struggled to raise money and ultimately withdrew before a single vote had been cast. On Friday afternoon, she conducted a call with some of the party’s top donors on Biden’s behalf. But she showed up about 30 minutes late and was only available for a few minutes. The group had been summoned by tech executive Reid Hoffman, a major Democratic Party donor, and had expected to have a more interesting and informative conversation.

“Basically all she said is we are going to win,” one donor said. “Everyone was pissed after the call. It was a complete waste of time.”

The person noted that some California donors have long been disappointed with Harris, believing she was unprepared for the White House. Many of the party’s top donors, she added, hope Harris will now tack to the middle — instead of the left — and be more receptive to listening to a broader spectrum of voices about technology and regulatory policy.

After Biden threw his support behind Harris on Sunday, some major Democratic donors said they believed the party and its big-dollar supporters would consolidate behind the vice president.

“I think the party is behind her,” said Susie Tompkins Buell, a San Francisco philanthropist and co-founder of the Esprit clothing line. She said the mood was shifting even among other major party backers who were initially hesitant about Harris.

“This moment of relief and freedom has put them behind Kamala, quite suddenly,” Buell said. “Everybody’s very excited about getting to work to make sure that this candidate has the time, the energy and the money to make this happen. It’s quite a beautiful thing.”

Hoffman posted his support for Harris on X: “Kamala D. Harris is the right person at the right time,” he wrote. “Donald Trump and JD Vance are promising an agenda that will wreak havoc on the American people. Harris’s background and leadership growing the economy, fighting for bodily autonomy, and protecting our democracy uniquely position her to push back against Trump’s extremism.”

Several campaign finance lawyers noted that, under federal election guidelines, when a presidential candidate withdraws from the race, the dollars in his or her campaign account usually are considered “excess campaign funds” that can be contributed to the Democratic National Committee or to an independent expenditure committee.

Another potential wrinkle is that under federal limits, presidential candidates can raise $3,300 for their primary campaign and can also collect $3,300 for the general election. But if they withdraw or lose before making it to the general election campaign, they are required to return those general election contributions to donors — as Hillary Clinton did when she lost the 2008 primary to Barack Obama.

Because Harris’s name was listed on the Biden campaign committee’s paperwork — and because she would still be running in the general election if she becomes the party’s nominee — former FEC chairman Trevor Potter said he does not think Harris would have to return those general election contributions.

But, Potter added, “that has never been tested, because we’ve never had a situation like this.”