Senate Democrats proposed a measure that would trigger cuts to the Office of Management and Budget’s funding after President Donald Trump ran several ads paid with federal taxpayer dollars.
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Appropriations Committee’s top Democrat, introduced a bill Thursday that would cut the OMB’s budget by $20 million each time the Trump administration violates federal anti-propaganda laws.
Last month, the agency transferred $20 million for “commemorative events” related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which awarded a $20 million contract the next day for a “national media campaign.” Three days later, Trump’s campaign-style ads began running on national broadcasts, featuring the president railing against communism and praising his past achievements.
“Congress cannot sit on its hands. If the president is going to defy federal law to run propaganda celebrating himself — and his budget director is going to allow it — there must be consequences,” Murray said in a statement.
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The bill is highly unlikely to move forward under a Republican trifecta. But the push from Democratic lawmakers to check Trump over his broadcast spots reflects a growing urgency within the minority party to aggressively address the president’s legal transgressions should they recapture the House or Senate after the midterms.
OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Murray’s proposed legislation.
The first of the four ads, which featured Trump speaking about communism over the song “Love Me,” started airing on Sept. 23. The administration’s latest ad, released Wednesday, centered footage of missile strikes and fighter jets, in an effort to bolster support for the largely unpopular Iran war. All of the broadcast spots say they were “paid for by the U.S. government.”
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. George Whitesides (D-California) on Thursday called on Congress’ independent watchdog to launch an investigation into the use of federal dollars to promote Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
“President Trump is obviously desperate for the American people to ‘love’ him, a problem that goes beyond your jurisdiction,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Government Accountability Office. “But stealing taxpayer dollars to pay for Mr. Trump’s narcissistic ego trips is plainly illegal.”
Several Republicans have joined the chorus of Democrats crying foul over the ad campaign, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who told reporters Monday that the spots “shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) confirmed Tuesday that the money for the ads was taken out of congressionally allocated CBP funding and said the administration had gone “around the appropriations process.”
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