Federal judge orders Trump to pull TV ads paid for with $20 million in public funds
The ruling suspends the airing of the commercials for 14 days; they have been criticized for allegedly using government resources to promote the president ahead of the November midterm election. The White House maintains that they are public service announcements.
Donald Trump at the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C.
A federal judge ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to cancel the publicly funded television ads that promote his administration, following a lawsuit challenging the legality of using government resources for potential electoral purposes.
Judge Jennifer Rochon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a 14-day temporary restraining order that prevents the creation, contracting, or broadcast of new ads of this type and requires the cancellation of pending broadcasts.
The decision affects an advertising campaign for which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocated $20 million, according to AFP.
Dispute over use of federal funds
The measure responds to a lawsuit filed by a coalition led by the government watchdog organization Common Cause, along with union representatives and a candidate for the Alabama state legislature.
The plaintiffs argue that the ads exceed the purposes authorized by Congress for those funds and violate federal restrictions on the use of public funds for political advertising and propaganda.
In a statement released by Democracy Forward, an organization representing the plaintiffs, the coalition welcomed the court's decision and asserted that there is no legal justification for using funds allocated by Congress for other purposes with the aim of influencing election results.
The order is provisional and does not constitute a final ruling on the legality of the campaign.
Anti-communist ads and a 'final battle'
One of the ads featured a song with the phrase "Love Me," while Trump declared that the United States would never be a communist country.
Another showed the president warning of a "final battle," accompanied by black-and-white images and a message identifying the U.S. government as the entity responsible for funding the advertising.
The ads drew criticism from both Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans, particularly for the use of taxpayer money to spread messages associated with the president's political rhetoric.
White House defends campaign
The Trump administration has defended the commercials as public service announcements intended to promote government policies, rather than as campaign advertising.
In addition, the Department of Justice argued in court that a court order was unnecessary because the advertising campaign was already scheduled to end on Sunday.
Amid the controversy, Trump announced that his political committee, MAGA Inc., would fund future promotional ads, although the White House later clarified that this decision did not entail the reimbursement of public funds already used.
According to The Associated Press, the president defended the ads as a positive promotion of the United States.
The controversy comes in the midst of the midterm election campaign, in which Trump is seeking to support Republican candidates to retain control of Congress.
For now, the court ruling halts government-funded ads for two weeks, while litigation continues over the legal limits on the use of federal funds for communications that the plaintiffs consider to be of an electoral nature.
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