A federal judge told President Donald Trump’s administration to pull its taxpayer-funded TV ads off the air, but the ads just kept on running.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York issued the order at about 6:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. The spots aired hundreds of times anyway. A Justice Department lawyer apologized Monday, Oct. 12, for the delay in complying, and the department said in a court filing that agency lawyers had not learned of the order until that morning.
The case was brought by the nonpartisan watchdog Common Cause; Robert Hunter, a Democratic candidate for a seat in the Alabama state House; Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ; and the union’s political action committee, Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC. They are represented by Democracy Forward, Campaign Legal Center Action and Public Integrity Project Action. The suit names the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Office of Management and Budget and the Executive Office of the President as defendants, and argues the administration used public money to tilt the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Judge Rochon, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, found the coalition likely to win its case and ruled that an injunction served the public interest. She ordered officials to cancel any remaining airings, including the ones booked for that Sunday night, and to tell contractor LMD Agency Inc. to follow the ruling. Her original order was set to last 14 days.
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rochon extended it through Nov. 8, after the Nov. 3 election, and set a Nov. 4 hearing on a longer-lasting order. Common Cause said the ads aired about 570 times after her original ruling.
Border Security Money Paid the Bill
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a $20 million purchase order to LMD Agency Inc. on Sept. 20. The money came from funds available for, among other things, “commemorating efforts and events related to border security.”
LMD had bought about $19 million in media buys through Sunday, Oct. 11, Holly Mehringer, a senior Homeland Security official, wrote in a sworn declaration filed Saturday, Oct. 10. She said the agency had no plans to buy more.
The ads ran on CBS, ABC, ESPN, CNN, MS NOW, Fox News, Fox and Newsmax, during NFL games and shows including “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” They were classified as public service announcements and end with a disclaimer saying the U.S. government paid for them. One features Trump talking about the threat of communism. Another is a replay of an ad from his last presidential campaign. A spot focused on the administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro began airing Tuesday, Oct. 6.
The administration has created at least 13 campaign-style ads, CNN reported. Spots that had not yet aired included one recapping the UFC fight Trump hosted at the White House, one called “God Made Trump,” and one showing lions hunting alongside images of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Trump’s Offer to Pay Himself
The spending drew complaints from Republicans as well as Democrats. “It shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Oct. 5 that he viewed the commercials as good promotion for the country and that paying for them with government money was a normal thing to do. In the same post, he said he would instead cover the cost himself with money he raised for MAGA Inc., his super PAC.
The White House said MAGA Inc. would pay for future ads. A White House official said there were no immediate plans to pay the government back for what had already run.
The White House has defended the spots as public service announcements like those of past administrations. These ads differ from many of those: they are not aimed at helping people use a specific government program. Legal experts have said the spending may violate a federal statute barring money appropriated by Congress from being used for publicity or propaganda.
The Question the Justice Department Skipped
In its Saturday, Oct. 10, filing, the Justice Department told Judge Rochon a restraining order was unnecessary because the ads were set to stop the next day. The department sidestepped the question of whether the ads were legal in the first place. Common Cause told the judge that promising to stop soon was an attempt to run out the clock, and pointed out that the department had ignored her request for details about the roles Trump and the White House played in the campaign.
The Democratic National Committee filed its own suit over the ads on Oct. 7, asking a judge in Washington, D.C., to stop the president from using taxpayer money to promote himself.
“We won’t stop until this administration is held fully accountable,” said Common Cause CEO Virginia Kase Solomón.
