USA12 October, 20263 min read
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon Orders Trump Administration To Cancel Taxpayer-Funded Pro-Political TV Ads
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Judge Rochon orders immediate cessation of taxpayer-funded Trump promotional TV ads The ads were funded by a Department of Homeland Security contract worth about $20 million
8 outlets told this the same way.
Rochon halts ads
A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump to cancel any remaining television commercials paid for with millions of dollars in taxpayer money to promote his political message.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon in New York sided with a coalition that included the nonpartisan watchdog Common Cause and granted a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to cancel any remaining ads, including any set to air Sunday night.
Rochon told the administration, “Defendants shall not enter into, renew, or expand any agreement authorizing the development, creation, dissemination, placement, or airing of the challenged advertisements” during the two-week duration of her order.
The Department of Homeland Security tapped $20 million in taxpayer money for the ads, and the Homeland Security money tapped for the ads came from a $175 million package Congress gave to the department as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
The Justice Department argued in a court filing late Saturday that the temporary restraining order was unnecessary because “the alleged offending conduct will end tomorrow.”
Spending and timing fight
The Trump administration told the court that the ad push was coming to an end, and the Justice Department told Rochon late Saturday that the ads were set to end Sunday night.
Rochon rejected that timing argument and ordered the government to halt any further airings as of 6:45 p.m. ET, while the administration said it had already spent $19 million in taxpayer money on the ads.
CNN reported that an advertising company, LMD Agency Inc., “purchased media buys under the terms of the Order through Sunday, October 11, 2026, at an approximate cost of $19,000,000,” according to a sworn declaration by senior Department of Homeland Security official Holly Mehringer.
Mehringer said the Department of Homeland Security directed LMD “to not make any additional media buys past October 11,” and Mehringer added there are “no plans” to purchase any additional ads.
Common Cause said in a statement, “We are pleased the court acted swiftly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly unlawful political propaganda.”
Two-week order and lawsuits
Rochon’s temporary restraining order barred the Trump administration from using funds appropriated to DHS to “develop, create, disseminate, place, distribute, publish, or air the challenged advertisements.”
The lawsuit was brought by 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.
NBC News reported that the suit was one of several similar complaints, including one by the Democratic National Committee, filed to get the ads off the air.
The coalition that sued told Rochon earlier Sunday that she should issue the TRO despite the claim by the U.S. Attorney's Office that the ads would not continue past Sunday, and the plaintiffs said, “Defendants admit that appropriated funds were used to pay for political ads.”
The order also directed the administration not to enter into any new agreement or expand existing ones for the ads, and Rochon stayed a purchase order for the ads between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a contractor, Lepugh Inc., doing business as LMD Agency Inc.