A federal judge in New York issued a temporary restraining order on Sunday directing the Trump administration to cease broadcasting taxpayer-funded television advertisements promoting the president. The order, issued by US District Judge Jennifer L Rochon, took effect at 6:45pm ET and is scheduled to remain in place for at least 14 days. The ruling also requires the administration to cancel the remaining portion of a $20 million advertising purchase.
The legal challenge was filed by government watchdog Common Cause, Alabama state house Democratic candidate Robert Hunter, and Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, naming the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Executive Office of the President as defendants. The plaintiffs argued that the administration was improperly using public funds to influence elections, characterizing the effort as “blatant abuse of authority” and stating that defendants were attempting to “skew midterm and state elections by using taxpayer dollars to run publicity and propaganda.” Judge Rochon determined that the plaintiffs demonstrated they were likely to succeed on the merits and would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction.
The White House referenced a statement by Trump from 5 October on Truth Social in which he said the advertisements constituted positive promotion for the United States and that such taxpayer funding was standard practice. Trump indicated he would fund the ads himself using money raised by his Make America Great Again political movement. The plaintiffs responded that the court’s action prevented further misuse of taxpayer dollars for unlawful political purposes.
The Democratic National Committee filed a similar lawsuit against the administration on 7 October in Washington DC federal court. Media tracking firm AdImpact reported the ads have cost taxpayers more than $12 million and have aired on major networks including ABC, CNN, NBC, and Fox News, as well as during National Football League broadcasts and late-night programming. The effort has generated bipartisan criticism.
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