Judge Orders DHS to Halt Taxpayer-Funded Trump TV Ads

Elizabeth Frantz / REUTERS President Donald Trump has been hit with a major legal setback over his divisive taxpayer-funded ads.

Trump, 80, had aired several TV ads at the public’s expense, including a 2024 campaign spot , an anti-communist message, an excerpt from his July 4 speech, and a pro-Iran war video that featured Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisting that the U.S. didn’t start the conflict.

The Trump administration had already spent over $11 million on more than a dozen of the “Patriotic Ads,” according to advertising analytics firm AdImpact, reportedly funded through a $20 million Department of Homeland Security contract.

They have aired on national television networks over the past two weeks.

But on Sunday evening a federal judge issued an order to cancel the ads, effectively immediately, pulling them from primetime TV.

U.S.

District Judge Jennifer Rochon ordered the DHS to pull the ads, including those that had been slated to air on Sunday night, and barred the White House and other federal agencies from continuing with the pro-Trump ad campaign, Politico reported.

“Defendants are enjoined from using, disbursing, or transferring funds appropriated to the Department of Homeland Security to develop, create, disseminate, place, distribute, publish, or air the challenged advertisements,” wrote Rochon, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.

The ruling meant the ads had to stop airing by 6:45 p.m.

Eastern time, depriving them of critical primetime exposure.

The order also enforced the ruling with Maryland marketing firm LMD Media, which purchased the slots the ads ran in on Fox, CNN, MSNOW, Newsmax, CBS, ABC and ESPN.

The Trump administration had attempted to circumvent the court ruling with the DHS telling Rochon late Saturday they had “no plans” to have the ads run after Sunday.

The Democratic National Committee and Common Cause filed separate lawsuits in an attempt to stop the ads.

Democracy Forward posted on X on Sunday evening, “We won a court order blocking Trump’s taxpayer-funded political ads.