A three-judge court in Washington, D.C.’s federal court Wednesday sounded skeptical of whether a Federal Election Commission cap on the use of post-election donations to pay off loans made by candidates to their campaigns actually prevented quid pro quo corruption, as the commission argued.

Sen. Ted Cruz and his campaign last year sued the commission over a provision in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that blocks campaigns from using more than $250,000 in post-election donations to pay back loans candidates make to those campaigns.