DNC and Common Cause sue Trump over $20M taxpayer-funded TV ad campaign ahead of midterms

The Democratic National Committee filed suit in federal court in Washington on Wednesday against President Donald Trump and his administration, demanding a judge halt a taxpayer-funded television advertising campaign that has aired Trump's image on broadcast and cable networks — including during NFL games and programs where he has been criticized — for more than a month before the November 3 midterm elections. Hours later, the democracy watchdog group Common Cause filed a parallel lawsuit in the Southern District of New York making nearly identical legal arguments.

The two suits arrive three days after Trump announced on Truth Social that he would stop using government money for the ads and have his super PAC, MAGA Inc., cover future costs instead — a reversal that came after bipartisan criticism but that left unresolved whether taxpayers would be reimbursed for the more than $12 million already spent, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The White House confirmed to NBC News that Trump's PAC would not reimburse the government for money already spent. Meanwhile, some ads continued to run after Trump's announcement bearing the disclosure 'Paid for by the United States Government,' and a fifth ad — celebrating Trump's military intervention in Venezuela — was released with the same government-funded label.

Donald Trump is misusing millions of taxpayer dollars to fund pure propaganda ads in a last-ditch attempt to save Republicans in November, so we're suing him.— Ken Martin, DNC Chair

The DNC's complaint lays out a specific financial trail: Trump directed Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to tap $20 million from a $175 million Department of Homeland Security package Congress allocated as part of Trump's immigration enforcement agenda, according to the New York Times as cited in the Yahoo News report. The OMB moved those funds into a Customs and Border Protection line item designated for 'Commemorative Events' — a category that congressional committee reports explicitly restricted to line-of-duty death memorials, agency anniversaries, and commendation ceremonies, according to the lawsuit. A $20 million contract was then awarded to a Maryland firm, LMD Agency Inc., to produce and place the ads, according to NBC News.

Critically, the DNC's lawsuit also reveals that eight additional ads have already been produced and were found in a Dropbox account controlled by LMD Agency Inc. Those queued spots include one celebrating UFC fights staged at the White House on Trump's birthday, one titled 'God Made Trump' that aired at the Republican midterm convention, one titled 'Resilience' that includes footage of Trump's 2015 campaign announcement, his 2023 Fulton County indictment, and the 2024 assassination attempt against him, and one titled 'King of the Jungle' that disparages political opponents including former President Barack Obama, according to Yahoo News. CNN, which gained access to the Dropbox, reported another ad attacks former President Joe Biden.

Three ads have already aired publicly. In one, a choir sings 'Love Me' over a montage of Trump as he declares the U.S. will 'never be a communist country.' A second uses images of Mount Rushmore as Trump heralds a new 'golden age of America.' The third, shot in black and white, shows Trump walking toward the camera warning of a 'final battle' against the 'deep state.' A fourth ad features Trump touting the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and a fifth asks viewers to 'pretend I'm on the ballot' to drive midterm turnout, according to the Fox News report of the lawsuit's contents. Ads also feature administration officials including Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio praising Trump, according to Fox News.

The first ad in the series also features an image of FIFA president Gianni Infantino awarding Trump a so-called 'FIFA peace prize,' which the DNC cites as evidence the campaign violates a prohibition on using taxpayer funds for 'self-aggrandizement,' according to Yahoo News. Separately, the artist whose song 'Love Me' was used in one ad — Christian Berishaj, who performs as JMSN — notified the White House he had not given permission and sent a cease-and-desist letter to MAGA Inc. on Tuesday, according to Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg.

The lawsuits invoke three federal statutes: a ban on using appropriated funds for 'publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress' — a provision Trump himself signed into law earlier this year, according to NBC News — the Anti-Deficiency Act, which bars spending government money that has not been appropriated by Congress, and the Purpose Statute, which limits taxpayer funds to the specific uses Congress approved. Both suits also argue the spending violates the constitutional separation of powers by allowing the executive branch to redirect funds contrary to Congress's direction.

The founders made clear more than 200 years ago that the executive can spend money only according to Congress's direction.— Common Cause, in its lawsuit

The DNC further argues the campaign placed Democratic candidates at an electoral disadvantage by adding public funds to resources available to support Republican candidates, depriving Democrats 'of a fair electoral process,' according to NBC News.

It appears that the $20 million that had been contracted for this has not all been spent yet, and so they will continue to run ads paid for by taxpayer dollars, and so we think we need to stop that now, and not another dollar of taxpayer dollars should be spent on these ads.— Omar Noureldin, Common Cause Senior Vice President of Policy and Litigation

Both lawsuits ask courts to declare the ad campaign illegal, block further use of appropriated funds for it, and order steps to recover money already spent. A person familiar with the ad buy told NBC News that placements made before Trump's Monday announcement would end this week, after which outside groups would begin paying for the spots.

The White House has defended the ads as 'presidential public service announcements,' arguing they are 'clearly not political' and pointing to advertising campaigns by previous administrations, including the George W. Bush administration's Medicare prescription drug outreach, the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act enrollment campaign, and the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, said last week the ads did not merit FCC review, calling them 'not anything at all out of the ordinary,' according to NBC News.

Republican reaction has been notably mixed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he agreed with the message in one ad but emphasized 'it shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars.' Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the advertisements resembled something former Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán would produce. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday found 86 percent of Americans surveyed — including roughly four in five Republicans — called it inappropriate to use public money for the ads, with only 17 percent of Republicans approving.

The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money. This is a rather standard thing to do but, rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!— Donald Trump, President of the United States, on Truth Social

The DNC case is Democratic National Committee v. Trump, 26-cv-3506, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. No court ruling has been issued. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and congressional Democrats have separately called for investigations by government ethics offices, and advocacy groups have filed complaints with regulatory agencies and sought records under federal transparency law, according to Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg.

Why it matters — The lawsuits test whether a president can redirect congressionally earmarked funds to a self-promotional ad campaign during an election cycle — a question with implications for executive spending power and campaign fairness that courts have not yet resolved.

Sources differ on Whether the ads constitute legitimate public service announcements or illegal political propaganda: White House: 'Presidential public service announcements are nothing new' and the ads are 'clearly not political,' comparable to outreach by Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations. (foxnews.com / nbcnews.com) vs DNC and Common Cause: The ads are 'overtly political,' amount to 'personal publicity and political propaganda,' and violate multiple federal statutes. (aljazeera.com / nbcnews.com)

Reported by reuters.com, politico.com, aljazeera.com, nbcnews.com, courthousenews.com, foxnews.com, yahoo.com, finance.yahoo.com