Dnc Sues To Stop Taxpayer-funded Trump Ads Ahead Of Midterms

The Democratic National Committee is suing President Donald Trump and his administration to block taxpayer-funded ads promoting the president, accusing the White House of illegally using public funds to help Republicans ahead of the midterms, per court documents obtained Wednesday by POLITICO.

In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, the DNC alleges the administration continued airing the ads at government expense even after Trump vowed Monday to use his super PAC, MAGA Inc., to pay for the ads moving forward.

“With less than 30 days remaining before the midterm election and millions of public dollars apportioned to pay for propaganda ads still unspent, the DNC has no choice but to take action in defense of free and fair elections,” the committee wrote in its complaint.

“Donald Trump doesn’t get to turn the federal government into his personal campaign operation, and he sure as hell doesn’t get to make taxpayers foot the bill,” DNC Chair Ken Martin wrote on X. “Using public dollars for partisan propaganda isn’t governing. It’s an abuse of power.”

In a separate post tagging the president, he wrote: “See you in court, @realDonaldTrump.”

The DNC alleges that the Office of Management and Budget shifted $20 million in Customs and Border Protection funds for the campaign, which began airing in late September. The committee argues the spending violates a federal ban on using appropriated money for unauthorized “publicity or propaganda purposes.”

The public spending puts Democratic candidates at a disadvantage “by preserving funds held by campaign committees and PACs—including MAGA Inc.—for other political expenditures,” the committee argues in the filing, which asks the court to declare the spending unlawful and bar the administration from using more appropriated funds to air more ads.

One of the more than a dozen ads, in which Trump vows to “demolish the Deep State,” is nearly identical to an advertisement his 2024 presidential campaign used, according to the complainant. The newer version ends with a “Paid for by the U.S. Government” disclosure, the filing says. A second ad, titled “God made Trump,” is “a three-minute propaganda piece previously shown during the Republican Midterm Convention,” the document adds.

Trump’s announcement Monday that he or MAGA Inc. would pay for the ads followed more than a week of bipartisan criticism of the spots. Even as he said the government would be reimbursed, Trump defended the spots as a “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” He said that using taxpayer funding for the ads was “a rather standard thing to do” but that he would pay for them himself and with money raised via MAGA Inc. The White House has also previously defended the ads as “educational and unapologetically patriotic.”

But the DNC says that ads carrying the government-funded disclosure aired Tuesday during “Dancing with the Stars” and Wednesday during Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” The committee alleges that at least $100,000 in public funds were spent on the ads after Trump had announced that MAGA Inc. would pay for ads going forward.

When asked about the lawsuit Wednesday, the White House referred to Trump’s Monday Truth Social post announcing his plans to take over funding the ads. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Speaker Mike Johnson defended the ads Tuesday, telling POLITICO during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania that the one he had seen “looked like a public service announcement.” But Johnson welcomed the switch to private funding, saying: “If the Super PAC’s funding them, that’s good.”

Asked whether Trump should reimburse taxpayers for the money that’s already been spent, Johnson left the decision up to the president’s team.

Other Republicans have criticized the spending, including Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, who said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that public officials should not use public money for ads promoting themselves.

Retiring North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis was blunter, telling reporters last week of the ad campaign: “I hate it.”