ASN NEWS USA — SPECIAL REPORT
WASHINGTON (ASN NEWS USA)— The fight over who pays for President Donald Trump’s glow-up commercials just landed in court — twice in one day.
The Democratic National Committee filed suit Wednesday in federal court in Washington, seeking an order blocking the administration from spending taxpayer money on TV ads promoting the president with less than 30 days until the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Hours later, a second suit landed in federal court in New York, filed by Common Cause, a Democratic state legislative candidate, and two SEIU groups against the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and senior officials.
The accusation is blunt: the government illegally diverted public money to produce what the plaintiffs call partisan political propaganda. Federal law bars spending appropriations on unauthorized “publicity or propaganda.”
The money trail is the smoking gun. According to the New York complaint, the Office of Management and Budget bumped up a Customs and Border Protection funding pool meant for commemorative events — memorials for fallen officers, agency anniversaries, ceremonies honoring crime victims — by $20 million. The very next day, DHS signed a $20 million advertising contract. One of the spots, plaintiffs say, is a repurposed Trump 2024 campaign ad with the campaign disclaimer swapped out for the words “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The ads began airing in late September and sparked bipartisan backlash. On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that they would no longer be funded by taxpayers, and the White House said his MAGA PAC would pick up the tab — but would not reimburse taxpayers for what already ran. The DNC says the spots kept airing anyway, including during football games as recently as Sunday.
This is the money question, and it’s ugly: when the government buys the airtime, the campaign gets the commercial for free. The courts will now decide whether the American taxpayer was forced to fund a political ad buy weeks before an election.
Stay tuned to ASN News USA for continuing coverage.
Reported by ASN News USA. Visit asnnewsusa.com or follow @ASNNewsUSA for updates.
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