Fifty-four Senate Democrats voted on Thursday to amend the Bill of Rights for the first time in American history.
The proposed constitutional amendment, which would dramatically curtail American free speech rights, fell short of the 60 votes it needed to advance. The vote split along party lines.
The measure would have empowered Congress to "regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections."
Its critics said that would amount to a de facto repeal of First Amendment protections for the purposes of political speech.
Its supporters countered that drastic measures are needed to rein in spending on political campaigns. Some, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said that the amendment would allow Democrats to enact more of their preferred legislation.