The Trump administration appears to have continued running campaign-style ads funded by taxpayer dollars after a federal judge ordered them to stop over the weekend.
The spots aired on “60 Minutes,” “ABC World News Tonight” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on Sunday night into Monday morning, The Washington Post first reported.
Groups that sued the Trump administration over the ads, including the advocacy organization Common Cause, told the court Monday afternoon that the ads ran in over 400 slots after 7 p.m. Sunday, when the judge’s order to cancel the ads took effect.
The White House told The Washington Sun that the Department of Homeland Security did not receive notice from the court in time to cancel the ads that ran Sunday evening, which was the final day the ads paid for by the government would run.
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One of the ads, “Final Battle,” is very similar to one used during President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. It features black-and-white footage of Trump walking down a hallway and recordings of statements he has made about “communists, Marxists and fascists” and the “fake news media.” Court filings estimate the Trump administration spent more than $9 million on that ad alone.
Another, titled “Maduro,” features images of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs, and statements from administration officials about the U.S. operation to capture him.
Common Cause and other groups told the court they were not asking to hold the Trump administration in contempt over the violation of the court’s deadline, but they did request a status conference to discuss next steps. The Trump administration is required to file a report on its compliance Monday evening.
The groups suing over the ads argue that the use of taxpayer dollars violates restrictions on government funds being used for propaganda.
In a hearing over the weekend, lawyers for the Trump administration did not deny that the advertisements were paid for by taxpayer funds that were originally appropriated for border security, technology and screening, though they did argue that the issue was moot and the court lacked the authority to hear the case.
Trump has characterized paying for ads with taxpayer dollars as “a rather standard thing to do,” and said on social media that he considers them to be “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.”
But going forward, he said, the ads will be paid for with money he raised for MAGA Inc., a super PAC founded in 2022.
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