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A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop broadcasting government-funded television advertisements that portray President Donald Trump in a positive light. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon of the Southern District of New York issued the ruling on Sunday, blocking the pro-Trump TV ads from airing with immediate effect.
Who Brought the Lawsuit
The legal challenge came from several parties. The watchdog group Common Cause, Democratic Alabama state House candidate Robert Hunter, and a New York labor union along with its political action committee all joined the lawsuit. The Democratic National Committee also filed a separate but similar complaint seeking to remove the ads from the air.
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Judge Rochon ruled firmly in favor of the plaintiffs. She wrote that they had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of the case. She also found that they would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction, and that both the balance of equities and the public interest supported blocking the ads.
What the Court Ordered
The Trump administration had already signaled some retreat before the ruling. In a court filing on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security stated that it had placed ad buys through Sunday via a vendor and had instructed that vendor not to purchase further airtime beyond that date.
However, Judge Rochon ruled the case was not moot. She ordered the administration to cancel any remaining ads, including those scheduled to air Sunday night. Furthermore, she barred the administration from using DHS funds to develop, create, distribute, publish or air the disputed advertisements in any form.
The White House, DHS and the Office of Management and Budget are all named as defendants. None of them responded immediately to requests for comment. MAGA Inc., which Trump said last week would help fund future ads, also did not respond to a comment request.
Reaction from Plaintiffs
The plaintiffs welcomed the swift court action. In a joint statement, they said they were pleased the court had moved quickly to stop taxpayer dollars from funding what they called “blatantly unlawful political propaganda.” They added that no legal justification or precedent exists for a president to use government funds to influence electoral outcomes for personal political gain.
Common Cause President and CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said the fight is not over despite the ruling. “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.
Critics had already raised concerns about the ads before the lawsuit. One of the advertisements was nearly identical to a 2024 Trump campaign ad. Opponents argued that using public money for such content was illegal and amounted to government-funded political propaganda.
