A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt President Donald Trump’s taxpayer-funded television advertising campaign, even after the administration said the ads were scheduled to end.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, issued an injunction Sunday evening barring the administration from airing or renewing the advertisements.
The dispute stems from the Trump administration’s more than $20 million television ad campaign promoting the president’s policies and rhetoric. The spots include imagery celebrating Trump’s agenda, denouncing socialism and communism, and showcasing American military power in Iran. Each advertisement includes the disclaimer, “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The plaintiffs celebrated the injunction, saying they were “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,” they added, in a statement released by Democracy Forward.
In a court filing late Saturday, Oct. 10, the Justice Department argued that a temporary restraining order was unnecessary because “the alleged offending conduct will end tomorrow.”
The last of the public service announcements funded by the government aired on Sunday, and any further airings of the videos will be funded by outside groups.
The White House defended the campaign by pointing to previous administrations that used taxpayer-funded public service announcements to promote government policies.
The George W. Bush administration ran television advertisements explaining Medicare prescription drug benefits, while the Obama administration advertised Obamacare enrollment, and the Biden administration funded its nationwide “We Can Do This” public health campaign, a White House official told the Washington Examiner.
The White House also argued that Trump’s advertisements are not political because the president is not on the ballot and the spots contain no explicit call to action.
Trump addressed the criticism on Truth Social on Oct. 5, arguing that previous administrations had used government-funded advertising campaigns and defending his decision to promote his own agenda.
“The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money,” Trump wrote. He added that he had decided to pay for the advertisements himself through MAGA Inc., his political fundraising PAC.
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The Democratic National Committee has separately sued the Trump administration, alleging the advertisements violate federal propaganda laws.
“The Trump Administration is using taxpayer dollars to air political advertisements, a blatant violation of the statutory ban on the use of appropriations for ‘publicity or propaganda purposes,’” the DNC lawyers argued.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
