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# Judge Orders Trump's Taxpayer-Funded DHS Ads Off the Air as Wisconsin Voting Continues
- URL: https://foxwatershed.com/judge-orders-dhs-trump-ads-off-air/
- Published: 2026-10-12T06:04:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T06:06:05.000Z
- Description: A federal judge in Manhattan barred DHS from airing or buying more of its $20 million ad campaign promoting Trump. About $19 million is already spent, the White House has no plans to repay it, and a hearing is set for Tuesday.
- Author: Ethan Rouse
- Tags: National, The Midterm Monitor, Trump Administration, Lawsuits

A federal judge in Manhattan ordered the Trump administration Sunday night to cancel every remaining television ad in a $20 million Department of Homeland Security campaign promoting President Donald Trump, finding that the groups suing over the spending are likely to win. The [temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon](https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2026/10/11/judge-orders-the-trump-administration-to-cancel-taxpayer-funded-promotional-tv-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com) lasts 14 days. It bars the government from signing, renewing or expanding any agreement to produce, place or air the spots, and it required the cancellation of ads booked for Sunday evening.

Most of the money is already gone. About $19 million of the $20 million had been spent on the ads by the time Rochon ruled, [CNBC reported](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/11/trump-ads-dhs-judge-order.html?ref=foxwatershed.com), and the White House has said it has no plans to repay it. The spots have aired across Wisconsin since late September, [the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported](https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2026/10/01/have-you-seen-these-trump-ads-turns-out-youre-paying-for-them/?ref=foxwatershed.com), starting days after clerks here mailed the first absentee ballots of the midterm election.

## What Rochon ordered

The order came in [Common Cause v. Department of Homeland Security](https://dockets.justia.com/docket/new-york/nysdce/1:2026cv08882/674638?ref=foxwatershed.com), filed Oct. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs are the government watchdog group Common Cause, Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, the union's Empire State PAC, and Robert Hunter, the Democratic nominee for Alabama House District 28\. The defendants are DHS and Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the White House Office of Management and Budget and its director, Russell Vought, the Executive Office of the President and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Democracy Forward, Campaign Legal Center Action and the Public Integrity Project represent the coalition.

Rochon found the coalition likely to succeed on the merits and likely to suffer irreparable harm without an order, and she found that the balance of equities and the public interest favor an injunction, [Axios reported](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/12/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-judge-order?ref=foxwatershed.com). She rejected the Justice Department's argument that the plaintiffs lacked standing. She also stayed the purchase order between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the ads' contractor, Lepugh Inc., which does business as LMD Agency, [according to CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/11/trump-ads-dhs-judge-order.html?ref=foxwatershed.com). The judge said a full written opinion would follow.

The government's main defense was timing. In a filing late Saturday, the Justice Department told Rochon an order was unnecessary because "the alleged offending conduct will end tomorrow," [the Associated Press reported](https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2026/10/11/judge-orders-the-trump-administration-to-cancel-taxpayer-funded-promotional-tv-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com). The coalition answered Sunday that the administration had admitted using appropriated funds "to pay for political ads" and hadn't argued the spending was legal. Rochon ruled the request wasn't moot. The Justice Department didn't defend the ads on the merits in its response, according to the plaintiffs' filing.

A hearing on the next steps is set for Tuesday, [according to Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/12/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-judge-order?ref=foxwatershed.com).

## Where the $20 million came from

The [coalition's complaint](https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/common-cause-v.-DHS-complaint.pdf?ref=foxwatershed.com) traces the money to the 2025 reconciliation law Republicans named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Section 90004 of that law gave CBP about $6.1 billion for border security, technology and screening, including a line for "commemorating efforts and events related to border security." House report language tied that line to line-of-duty memorials, agency anniversaries and commendation ceremonies, the complaint says.

Before September, OMB had made $500,000 of that money available for commemorations, according to the complaint. On Sept. 19, OMB raised the amount by $20 million. On Sept. 20, DHS signed a $20 million contract with LMD. Contracting records describe the deal as a "National Media Campaign," [CBS News reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-judge-cancels/?ref=foxwatershed.com), and a nongovernment database lists OMB's $20 million grant to CBP as "OBBB Commemorative Events."

In a sworn declaration Saturday, senior DHS official Holly Mehringer told the court the funds were available for, among other things, "commemorating efforts and events related to border security," [the AP reported](https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2026/10/11/judge-orders-the-trump-administration-to-cancel-taxpayer-funded-promotional-tv-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com). The complaint cites New York Times reporting that Trump told Vought to find the money "from within the government." Earlier coverage by [PBS NewsHour](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/dnc-files-lawsuit-alleging-trumps-taxpayer-funded-ads-are-illegal-propaganda?ref=foxwatershed.com) described the source as a $175 million package Congress gave DHS for Trump's immigration enforcement agenda.

## What the ads show

Five ads have aired since Sept. 23, each ending with the line "Paid for by the U.S. Government." Citing estimates from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact as of 11 a.m. Eastern on Oct. 7, the complaint lists them this way:

- "The Country He Loves," first aired Sept. 23: 1,315 spots, about $1.37 million
- "Celebrating the Enduring Spirit," Sept. 24: 2,989 spots, about $2.71 million
- "Final Battle," a reworked 2024 Trump campaign ad, Sept. 26: 8,643 spots, about $7.9 million
- "To the Great Proud People of Iran," Sept. 30 or Oct. 1: 747 spots, about $553,000
- "Maduro," Oct. 6: 277 spots, about $104,000

That comes to roughly 14,000 airings, 1.39 billion estimated impressions and $12.6 million, figures [Democracy Docket also reported](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-hit-with-second-lawsuit-over-taxpayer-funded-political-propaganda-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com) when the suit was filed. The AdImpact total, measured four days before the ruling, is well below the $19 million CNBC reported Sunday. Neither report explained the gap.

According to the complaint, as [described by CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/11/trump-ads-dhs-judge-order.html?ref=foxwatershed.com), "The Country He Loves" cuts between photos and video of Trump and text touting "Largest Tax Cuts in History" and "Reigniting American Manufacturing," with the words "AMERICA WILL NEVER BE A COMMUNIST COUNTRY" flashing between them. The newest spot centers on the administration's capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Lawyers for the singer JMSN sent Wiles a cease-and-desist letter last month over the use of his song "Love Me" in one of the ads, [CBS News reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-judge-cancels/?ref=foxwatershed.com).

## The law at issue

Congress has attached a ban on unauthorized "publicity or propaganda" to annual spending bills since 1952, [according to Democracy Forward](https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/coalition-challenges-unlawful-use-of-public-money-for-trump-political-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com). The current version, Section 718, anchors two of the complaint's nine counts. Two others rest on the federal Purpose Statute, which requires agencies to spend appropriated money only on the purposes Congress approved. The coalition also brings an ultra vires claim against all defendants and a Fifth Amendment equal protection claim.

The Government Accountability Office, Congress's auditing arm, interprets the propaganda ban in formal legal decisions. In a [2015 decision against the Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.gao.gov/products/B-326944?ref=foxwatershed.com), GAO identified self-aggrandizement, meaning communications whose obvious purpose is puffery of an agency or its officials, as one of the categories the ban covers. That case turned on an EPA social media push for its Waters of the United States rule. GAO found the agency broke the ban by spreading a message without disclosing EPA as its source, and concluded the violation also broke the Antideficiency Act, the law against spending money Congress hasn't made available.

The complaint also cites the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by federal employees. The president and vice president are exempt, but federal ethics experts told the [Journal Sentinel](https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2026/10/01/have-you-seen-these-trump-ads-turns-out-youre-paying-for-them/?ref=foxwatershed.com) that any federal employee who worked on the ads could be in violation. Campaign Legal Center has filed a Hatch Act complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, [Democracy Forward said](https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/coalition-challenges-unlawful-use-of-public-money-for-trump-political-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com). The Office of Special Counsel wouldn't tell the Journal Sentinel whether it's investigating.

The White House has defended the spots as public service announcements of the kind earlier administrations ran. Past PSAs generally helped people use a specific government program, and these ads don't, [the AP noted](https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2026/10/11/judge-orders-the-trump-administration-to-cancel-taxpayer-funded-promotional-tv-ads/?ref=foxwatershed.com). A White House statement quoted by the Journal Sentinel said Trump "is not on the ballot and there is no call to action."

## The spent money stays spent

Facing bipartisan criticism, Trump said Oct. 5 that he or his super PAC, MAGA Inc., would pay for the ads from then on. The White House later said the president wouldn't reimburse the government for ads that had already aired, [CNBC reported](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/11/trump-ads-dhs-judge-order.html?ref=foxwatershed.com), and a White House official told the AP there were no immediate plans to do so. The ads kept running on Oct. 6 and 7, after Trump's pledge, according to the complaint.

Republican senators have objected to paying for the ads with public money. "It shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars," Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that no public official should "spend public money on private ads for themselves," [CBS News reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-judge-cancels/?ref=foxwatershed.com).

The coalition's complaint asks the court to void OMB's Sept. 19 funding decision and the LMD contract, and to order the government to recover unspent money already paid to contractors. Reports on Sunday's order don't describe any recovery requirement. The temporary order addresses future spending and airings.

## Wisconsin's stake

The complaint says the ads ran on national television and in local markets in New York and Alabama. The Journal Sentinel reported they have aired across Wisconsin. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, called the ads "flat-out illegal" in a social media post, the [paper reported](https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2026/10/01/have-you-seen-these-trump-ads-turns-out-youre-paying-for-them/?ref=foxwatershed.com). Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, didn't respond to the paper's request for comment.

Voting is already underway here. Clerks had to mail absentee ballots to voters with requests on file by Sept. 17, six days before the first DHS ad aired, and in-person absentee voting opens Oct. 20, [the Wisconsin Examiner reported](https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/09/18/absentee-voting-opens-in-wisconsin/?ref=foxwatershed.com). The Nov. 3 ballot includes the open governor's race between Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, all eight congressional seats, and control of the Legislature, which is in play for the first time in more than 15 years.

Rochon's 14-day order, unless extended, would expire in late October, about nine days before Election Day. Hunter, the Alabama candidate, argues in the complaint that ads seen while ballots are being cast can't be undone after the votes are counted. He has spent less than $2,000 on advertising, the complaint says.

Fox Watershed covered the [Democratic National Committee's separate lawsuit](https://foxwatershed.com/dnc-lawsuit-trump-dhs-ads/) when it was filed Oct. 7 in federal court in Washington, D.C. That suit names Trump, the White House, DHS and OMB, and asks the court to declare the ads illegal and block federal money from paying for them, [PBS NewsHour reported](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/dnc-files-lawsuit-alleging-trumps-taxpayer-funded-ads-are-illegal-propaganda?ref=foxwatershed.com). DNC Chair Ken Martin called the spending "a last-ditch attempt to save Republicans in November."

[DNC Sues Over Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV AdsThe DNC says $20 million in DHS money paid for pro-Trump ads that ran during NFL games while Wisconsin absentee ballots were in the mail.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/b4/edb4fd27-66fb-4967-8c7f-ec1cf54dfb05/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/06/transparent-5.png)Fox Watershed![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/b4/edb4fd27-66fb-4967-8c7f-ec1cf54dfb05/content/images/size/w1200/2026/10/dnctrumpsue-1.png)](https://foxwatershed.com/dnc-lawsuit-trump-dhs-ads/)