Lachlan Markay for Axios:

The big picture: Whether or not Ros-Lehtinen’s spending constituted personal use, the FEC’s failure to move forward with an investigation effectively cements a standard that, good government groups warn, opens a huge campaign finance loophole.

• “Republican FEC commissioners have now declared that members of Congress can take their campaign money with them when they leave office, as long as they launder it through a so-called leadership PAC,” Adav Noti, Campaign Legal’s vice president and legal director, told Axios.
• “The commissioners’ position is completely contrary to law, and it could open the door to elected officials pocketing tens of millions of dollars.”

The other side: The Republican commissioners acknowledge that loophole exists but say it’s up to Congress to close it.

• “Congress has not amended the relevant statute,” which says personal use rules apply specifically to campaign committees, Commissioner Sean Cooksey wrote in a statement last year, as the commission debated the Ros-Lehtinen case.