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Posted: 2020-03-06T03:19:38Z | Updated: 2020-03-06T19:41:27Z

Mike Bloomberg is out of the presidential race, but his fortune is staying in. The billionaire former New York City mayor promised to spend whatever it takes to defeat President Donald Trump as he endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

He will apparently do so through a new, yet-to-be-named super PAC, according to The Washington Post . That super PAC will allow him to continue pumping money into the presidential race in the same way he did as a candidate allowing him to gain ever-increasing levels of political influence. Thanks to a yearslong effort by politicians to gut campaign finance laws, little stands in the way.

The law meant to prevent coordination between outside spenders and political campaigns has been chipped away over the past 10 years since the Supreme Courts Citizens United decision freed corporations, unions and wealthy individuals to spend freely on independent political efforts. Bloomberg and Biden wont be allowed to discuss campaign specifics, and Biden cant solicit contributions from Bloomberg in excess of the $2,800 donation limit to his own campaign.

But otherwise, almost anything is on the table.

The only thing (Bloomberg) cant do is talk to Biden and Bidens people about how hes going to spend his fortune, said Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance law expert at the nonpartisan nonprofit Common Cause.

What was once intended as a full ban on coordination between campaigns and independent spenders has become a rather light restriction. This is because of several decisions and deadlocks by the Federal Election Commission that have either given the green light or provided no guidance on a range of activities that could be seen as coordination.