Judge orders immediate halt to taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads

Por Kyle Cheney — POLITICO – TOP Stories

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately pull a slate of taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads that have been running on national television for two weeks.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon issued the restraining order Sunday evening, ordering the Department of Homeland Security to cancel the remainder of the $20 million ad buy — including those slated to run Sunday night — and barring the White House and other Trump administration agencies from resuming the campaign.

“Defendants are enjoined from using, disbursing, or transferring funds appropriated to the Department of Homeland Security to develop, create, disseminate, place, distribute, publish, or air the challenged advertisements,” wrote Rochon, a Biden appointee based in Manhattan.

Her order requires the administration to immediately inform contractor LMD Media, which carried out the ad buy, to abide by the ruling as well.

Rochon’s order came despite a last-minute attempt by the Trump administration to defuse the issue by vowing to end the ad campaign after Sunday. The Department of Homeland Security informed Rochon late Saturday that there were “no plans” to continue the pro-Trump ads, which were funded via the Customs and Border Patrol budget.

In the late Saturday filing, the Justice Department sidestepped questions about the legality of the ads — and whether they run afoul of restrictions on using taxpayer funds for political advantage.

The ads had drawn bipartisan condemnation for their overtly political tenor, mirroring Trump 2024 campaign ads but indicating they were paid for by the federal government. The Democratic National Committee and Common Cause filed separate lawsuits seeking to stop the ads.

On Saturday night, the Trump administration responded to Common Cause’s demand for an immediate halt, saying it was no longer necessary. The filing, which included declarations from a senior CBP budget official and an Office of Management and Budget program associate director shed more light on the timeline behind the ad buy.

According to the CBP official, Holly Mehringer, the agency issued a $20 million purchase order to LMD on Sept. 20 under “a previously awarded blanket agreement.” The funds were drawn from an appropriation facilitated by the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which permitted CBP to fund activities “commemorating efforts and events related to border security.”

About $19 million of the total has been spent on a national ad campaign slated to run through Sunday on Fox, CNN, MSNOW and Newsmax as well as CBS, ABC and ESPN.

Amid backlash over the ad campaign, Trump announced plans to end the taxpayer-funded ad buy and replace it with ads funded by his political committee MAGA Inc. Trump, however, does not intend to reimburse the federal government for the initial $20 million run, officials told POLITICO last week.

Common Cause responded to the Justice Department on Sunday, saying the promise to halt the ads “soon” — without defending their legality — was insufficient.

“Defendants say there is nothing for this Court to do because the Defendants will stop airing the ads soon — presumably by the time Defendants believe the Court can rule on the motion,” the group wrote. “That attempt to run out the clock does not cut against issuing a [restraining order].”

Common Cause also emphasized that the Justice Department ignored Rochon’s request for details about Trump’s and the White House’s role in the ad campaign.

Rochon had scheduled a Tuesday hearing on the matter. But she canceled the hearing Sunday, saying the weekend filings had provided her enough information to rule.

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories