How Ted Cruz Paved the Way for George Santos to Pocket Loans

When Rep. George Santos (R-NY) allegedly gave his campaign $705,000, he claims to have done so in the form of personal loans. And thanks to a Supreme Court ruling last year in favor of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), he can still repay himself every penny.

The Cruz decision, handed down in June, eliminated the previous $250,000 cap on loans candidates can recoup with money raised after an election. It drew swift condemnation from campaign finance reform advocates—as well as the Court’s three liberal justices—who saw it as an invitation to corruption.

In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the ruling “greenlights all the sordid bargains Congress thought right to stop.”

Saurav Ghosh, director of federal reform at bipartisan watchdog Campaign Legal Center, told The Daily Beast that Santos is a “prime example” of why the decision poses a “major problem for democracy.”