A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Sunday to stop airing ads funded by the U.S. government that portray President Donald Trump in a favorable light, effective immediately.
The lawsuit was brought by the watchdog group Common Cause; Robert Hunter, a Democratic candidate for a seat in the Alabama state House; and a labor union in New York and its political action committee. The suit was one of several similar complaints — including one by the Democratic National Committee — that were filed to get the ads off the air.
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits, will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, the balance of the equities tips in their favor, and an injunction serves the public interest,” U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon of the Southern District of New York wrote.
The administration had said in a court filing Saturday that the Department of Homeland Security, via a vendor, had placed ad buys through Sunday and had told the vendor to not purchase ads beyond that day.
Rochon said the plaintiffs’ argument was not moot, however, and ordered the Trump administration to “cancel or cause to be cancelled” any ads from airing or being disseminated, including those set to air Sunday night.
Rochon also wrote that the administration was barred from using funds appropriated to DHS to “develop, create, disseminate, place, distribute, publish, or air the challenged advertisements.”
The White House, DHS and the Office of Management and Budget, which are all named as defendants in the suit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling. MAGA Inc., which Trump had said last week would help him fund the ads moving forward, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We are pleased the court acted swiftly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly unlawful political propaganda,” the plaintiffs said in a statement. “There is no legal justification — and no precedent — for the president to use the machinery of the government and funds set aside by Congress for other uses to influence electoral outcomes that further his own agenda.”
Common Cause President and CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said that despite the ruling, “our fight continues.”
“We won’t stop until this administration is held fully accountable, and no president from any party can waste and abuse taxpayer funds for propaganda ever again,” Solomón said.
The ads — one of which was nearly identical to a 2024 Trump campaign ad — came under scrutiny by critics who argued that using taxpayer money could be illegal and called the spots propaganda.