Federal Judge Blocks Taxpayer-Funded Pro-Trump TV Ads After $19 Million Spent, Order Takes Effect Immediately
[GSM Washington] U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon in Manhattan issued a temporary restraining order on Sunday evening, October 11, ordering the Trump administration to immediately halt television ads promoting President Donald Trump's political agenda that were purchased with taxpayer money. The order took effect at 6:45 p.m. ET.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Rochon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the request from a plaintiff coalition led by the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause. In her order, the judge wrote that during the two-week duration of the order, "Defendants shall not enter into, renew, or expand any agreement authorizing the development, creation, dissemination, placement, or airing of the challenged advertisements."
Details of government spending were disclosed in court filings. According to CNN, the Justice Department acknowledged in a filing that the government has already spent $19 million in taxpayer money on the ad campaign. Holly Mehringer, a senior Department of Homeland Security official, said in a sworn declaration that advertising firm LMD Agency Inc. "purchased media buys under the terms of the Order through Sunday, October 11, 2026, at an approximate cost of $19,000,000."
According to the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security tapped $20 million in taxpayer money for the ads, drawn from a $175 million package Congress provided to the department as part of Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. Legal experts have suggested the spending may violate a federal statute barring congressionally appropriated funds from being used for "publicity or propaganda."
The plaintiffs allege the ads, classified by the government as "public service announcements," were in fact political propaganda designed to help Republican candidates in the November 3 midterm elections. According to Reuters, the lawsuit claims the ads were not genuine public service messages but political advertising aimed at influencing electoral outcomes to advance Trump's personal political agenda.
Notably, the administration had planned to end the ad campaign before the order came down. According to CNN, the Justice Department told Judge Rochon late Saturday that the ad push was scheduled to end Sunday night, arguing a temporary restraining order was unnecessary because "the alleged offending conduct will end tomorrow." But Judge Rochon held that the timing did not render the lawsuit moot and issued the order anyway.
Trump himself acknowledged the backlash on October 5. According to CNN, Trump said at the time: "I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.," his super PAC. But six days later, the taxpayer-funded ads were still airing. According to Reuters, the White House said this week that the president's political action committee, MAGA PAC, would fund the ads going forward, but would not reimburse taxpayers for money already spent. The ads end with a disclaimer saying they were paid for by the U.S. government.
The plaintiffs welcomed the ruling. According to the Associated Press, Democracy Forward, the nonprofit legal organization representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement: "We are pleased the court acted swiftly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly unlawful political propaganda. There is no legal justification — and no precedent — for the president to use the machinery of the government and funds set aside by Congress for other uses to influence electoral outcomes that further his own agenda."
"We won't stop until this administration is held fully accountable, and no president from any party can waste and abuse taxpayer funds for propaganda ever again," said Common Cause President and CEO Virginia Kase Solomón.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night. According to the Associated Press, the White House had no immediate comment on the court's Sunday order.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 曼哈顿丹尼尔·帕特里克·莫伊尼汉联邦法院大楼（纽约南区联邦法院所在地），Jim Henderson，CC BY-SA 3.0，Wikimedia Commons
