A federal judge in New York has ordered the Trump administration to stop running a series of TV ads paid for with Homeland Security money. President Trump had already said he would shift the cost to his own political group.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon, a Biden appointee, issued a temporary restraining order Sunday night, Forbes reported. She wrote that the groups suing are “likely to succeed” on the merits. The order took effect at 6:45 p.m. Eastern on Sunday and runs for two weeks unless extended, according to CBS News and Forbes.
Where the money came from
According to CBS News, which carried an Associated Press report, DHS set aside $20 million for a “National Media Campaign.” It hired a Maryland firm, LMD Agency, on Sept. 20.
A day before that, the White House budget office gave Customs and Border Protection $20 million for “OBBB Commemorative Events,” a reference to the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Ad-tracking firm AdImpact counted $21,705,138 in government spending on five ads by Monday morning, CBS reported. The real total could be different, because the spots were labeled public service announcements.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! This might just be the most EPIC Trump post of all time Trump posted a video of Maduro CHALLENGING 47 to “come get me,” followed up by a screaming Bald Eagle & Thunderstruck blaring in the background during missile fire 🇺🇸🦅 Trump said “challenge accepted” 🤣🔥 https://t.co/3IPKUnGRtM
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 3, 2026
What the ads showed
CBS listed the five ads and what was spent on each:
- “Maduro” ($3.1 million): Trump, Gen. Dan Caine, Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio discuss the operation that removed Nicolás Maduro.
- “Final Battle” ($13 million): A reworked 2024 Trump campaign video.
- “Celebrating The Enduring Spirit” ($3.1 million): A pro-America spot built on Trump’s July 3 Mount Rushmore speech.
- “To The Great Proud People of Iran” ($1.1 million): Footage from the Iran war with remarks by Trump and Hegseth.
- “The Country He Loves” ($1.4 million): Trump vows to defeat “communism, socialism and Marxism.”
The administration’s case
The White House pointed to an Oct. 5 Trump post calling the ads “rather standard,” CBS reported. A White House official said the spots “are clearly not political,” adding, “The President is not on the ballot and the ads don’t have a call to action.”
A DHS official, Holly Mehringer, said in a court filing that the money was available for “commemorating efforts and events related to border security.” DOJ argued the order was not needed because the ads were ending anyway.
Trump’s fix: pay for it privately
The week before the ruling, Trump said on Truth Social that he would stop using taxpayer funds. According to Forbes, he wrote that he would “do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”
A White House official told CBS there are no immediate plans to pay back the money already spent.
Washington has done this before
Government-funded ads touting an administration’s work are nothing new. In 2021, the Biden administration launched a $50 million ad campaign promoting lower-cost HealthCare.gov plans made possible by its American Rescue Plan, NBC News reported. The lead ad was titled “You CAN Do This.”
That same spring, NBC reported that the Biden White House rolled out “We Can Do This,” a multi-billion-dollar public education campaign paid for mostly with money from the COVID relief bill Biden had just signed.
Who sued
The case was brought by Common Cause and a coalition represented by Democracy Forward, both left-leaning groups. The Democratic National Committee filed its own lawsuit. Legal experts quoted by CBS said the spending may have broken a federal law that bars appropriated funds from being used for “publicity or propaganda.”
The plaintiffs said they were “pleased the court acted swiftly.”
The bottom line
These ads celebrate things the government actually did: a dictator removed, a war waged against Iran’s regime, a country proud of its founding. As the White House put it, “The President is not on the ballot and the ads don’t have a call to action.” Nobody is told to vote for anyone.
When the Biden administration spent tax money promoting its own laws and programs, it was called public outreach. When Trump’s DHS does it, left-wing groups and the DNC call it propaganda and a Biden-appointed judge pulls it off the air within days. The rules should be the same for both sides.
The order is temporary, and the administration will get its chance to make its case. In the meantime, Trump has taken the issue off the table by moving the ads to MAGA Inc. The patriotic message will keep running, and the groups that sued will have to find something else to complain about.