A federal judge issued an order late Sunday directing that any television advertisements still running — funded by taxpayer dollars and carrying a political message tied to President Donald Trump — be pulled, even as administration officials indicated the ad campaign had already wound down. The timing placed the dispute just weeks out from the November 3 US midterm elections.
US District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon, sitting in Manhattan, ruled in favour of a coalition that included the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause, which had brought a legal challenge arguing the advertisements represented an unlawful use of funds. In granting a two-week temporary restraining order, the judge directed the administration to halt all remaining advertisements — including any scheduled for Sunday night — and specified that the defendants were barred from entering into, renewing, or expanding any agreement that would authorise the development, creation, dissemination, placement, or broadcast of the contested advertisements for the duration of that period.
Common Cause and other plaintiffs filed suit contending the spots functioned as political material intended to benefit Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections rather than serving any genuine public-information purpose. A court filing submitted on Saturday indicated that plans to discontinue the advertisements had already been under way within the administration before Rochon's order took effect.
The ruling brought to a close several days of dispute over government-funded advertisements broadcast in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections. Virginia Kase Solomón, president and chief executive of Common Cause, stated that the organisation intended to pursue accountability for the administration's use of public funds for promotional content and to establish that no future president, regardless of party, would be permitted to do the same.
On Monday, Trump described the advertisements as a form of promotion that reflected well on the country, while announcing that taxpayer money would no longer cover their cost. Separately, the White House confirmed that MAGA PAC, the president's political action committee, would take over as the funding source going forward.
A spokesperson for the White House indicated that advertisements already broadcast would not be covered by Trump's political action committee, with the cost remaining on the public ledger. A disclaimer at the close of each advertisement identifies federal government funding as the source of payment.
No reply from the Justice Department had arrived by the time the judge's order was published. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included a public employee union and a candidate running for the Alabama state legislature, and the coalition asked Rochon to issue a temporary injunction blocking the advertisements before Friday — keeping them off the air during weekend programming such as football games and Saturday Night Live.
A separate action filed in federal court in Washington brought Democratic Party officials into the dispute over the advertisements.
