The Democratic National Committee demanded on Monday that a federal judge block another of President Donald Trump’s midterm ads from airing — this one allegedly created by White House staff and paid for by Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc.
The process represents a violation of federal law meant to prevent political staff performing campaign-related work, the DNC argued in a new filing.
It’s just the latest development in an ongoing legal saga over a series of White House advertisements that critics have called “propaganda” and comes after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop airing several taxpayer-funded ads through the midterm elections.
“Rather than paying to develop its own advertisement, MAGA Inc. broadcast an ad unlawfully developed by White House Office personnel, whose salaries are paid using Congressional appropriations,” Daniel J. Freeman, the DNC’s litigation director, wrote in the filing submitted Monday.
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MAGA Inc. began airing an ad titled “Every Democrat Voted Against No Tax on Tips” over the weekend, but the TV spot is virtually the same as an advertisement posted to the White House’s YouTube channel. Congress enacted the measure in question, which allows workers to deduct up to $25,000 of qualifying tip income on their taxes, through Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” last year.
“This same ad (minus the tag-line indicating MAGA Inc. had paid for airtime) appeared on the Official White House YouTube Channel on October 12,” Freeman wrote, indicating that it was produced by the Trump administration rather than the president’s political organization.
The White House and MAGA Inc. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The DNC’s lawsuit is one of three legal challenges to the taxpayer funded ads currently pending.
Earlier this month, Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York granted a temporary restraining order to block the ads and extended the freeze through Nov. 8 in a separate legal challenge brought by nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause and a coalition of other plaintiffs.
In response, the Department of Homeland Security assured Rochon it did not have any plans to pursue additional media buys past Oct. 11 — though the ads continued to air for a short time after that date.
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 may violate federal campaign finance laws that prohibit a president from directing spending decisions for a super PAC.
The White House later confirmed that the president 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 C. 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 only several hit the airwaves ahead of Rochon’s restraining order. Each of the previously aired spots contained a disclaimer reading “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 Washington Sun, the White House characterized the ads as “Presidential Public service announcements” and said that they “are nothing new,” citing ad campaigns run by former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
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