The Democratic National Committee flagged to a federal judge this week that a super PAC linked to President Donald Trump paid to air a second ad produced by White House staff using taxpayer dollars — the latest development in the organization’s legal quest to stop the ads from airing.
The DNC in a new status report took issue with a 90-second ad titled “President Trump’s Second Term: Stephen Miller.” The legal complaint comes shortly after the DNC urged the court to block MAGA Inc. from airing another 30-second spot touting Trump’s “No Tax on Tips” policy.
This month, a federal judge in a separate case temporarily blocked the White House from using taxpayer funds to pay for political advertisements — a freeze that was later extended through Nov. 8. The DNC’s lawsuit is one of three legal challenges over the ads, which the Trump administration has characterized as “public service announcements” meant to promote patriotism.
The DNC’s complaint is unique because the committee alleges the government unlawfully used public funds to develop, produce and air ads, while others allege only that the government is paying for their broadcast.
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In both court filings, the DNC argues that the spots are virtually the same as advertisements posted to the White House’s YouTube channel on Oct. 12.
“This ad consists entirely of plaudits for the President, and MAGA Inc. paying to air this 90-second video in its entirety confirms that it is partisan content,” Daniel Freeman, the DNC’s litigation director, wrote in the filing submitted Tuesday. “Once again, MAGA Inc. has broadcast an ad unlawfully developed by White House Office personnel, whose salaries are paid using Congressional appropriations, rather than paying to develop its own content.”
The DNC submitted the status reports this week as part of its lawsuit filed Oct. 7, which urges a federal judge to declare that the Trump administration “acted unlawfully by developing and airing the propaganda ads using Congressionally appropriated funds.”
The Democratic campaign arm has argued that the process of the Trump administration producing the ads represents a violation of federal laws meant to prevent political staff performing campaign-related work.
Tuesday’s filing takes aim at an ad featuring a voiceover by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller covering the major policy talking points of Trump’s second term.
Another ad flagged by the DNC on Monday touted Trump’s signature “No Tax on Tips” policy, enacted through the president’s “one big, beautiful bill” last year, which allows workers to deduct up to $25,000 of qualifying tip income on their taxes.
The DNC referred The Washington Sun to a statement the committee shared after Monday’s status report.
“Today’s filing demonstrates that MAGA Inc. is using blatant political propaganda, illegally produced and distributed with taxpayer dollars, as a part of their partisan advertising,” DNC spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said. “The DNC is taking Trump to court to stop his desperate attempt to salvage his tanking approval ratings using taxpayer money.”
The White House and MAGA Inc. did not immediately respond to requests for comment — though a White House official told The Sun on Monday that “there is nothing illegal about an outside group paying for advertisements of videos that were publicly posted online.”
This month, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon of the Southern District of New York granted a temporary restraining order in response to a separate legal challenge brought by the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause and a coalition of other plaintiffs.
The Department of Homeland Security subsequently assured Rochon it did not have plans to pursue additional media buys past Oct. 11.
Before Rochon temporarily blocked the ads, Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Oct. 5 that he planned to “pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.” — a move that also may violate federal campaign finance laws that prohibit a president from directing spending decisions for a super PAC.
The White House later confirmed that Trump would not be reimbursing the federal government for money used for the ads up to that point. In a federal court declaration, a senior DHS official, Holly Mehringer, confirmed that LMD Agency had already purchased approximately $19 million in media buys through Oct. 11.
The administration created up to 13 ads, CNN reported, though not all hit the airwaves ahead of Rochon’s restraining order. Each of the previously aired spots contained a disclaimer: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The ads often feature stylized edits of the president and Cabinet officials, with one spot echoing Republican rhetoric on the dangers of communism and another depicting U.S. missile strikes on Iran.
In previous statements shared with The Sun, the White House characterized the ads as “Presidential Public service announcements” and said they “are nothing new,” citing ad campaigns run by former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
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