Two federal lawsuits filed on Wednesday ask judges in Washington to stop the Trump administration from paying for television advertisements that praise the president and echo his midterm campaign message.
The Democratic National Committee’s complaint names President Donald Trump, the White House Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security. It alleges that the administration shifted $20 million in Customs and Border Protection funds to a campaign of television spots that Congress never authorized. A separate coalition, including Common Cause, a New York public-employee union and an Alabama legislative candidate, filed a second action later in the day.
Both cases rest on the line between a government information campaign and partisan promotion. Congress has long barred agencies from using appropriated money for “publicity or propaganda” inside the United States. The DNC also invokes the Administrative Procedure Act, the Antideficiency Act and the rule that appropriations may be spent only for their designated purpose.
The allegations have not been tested. The White House has defended the spots as public-service announcements of a kind used by earlier administrations. President Trump said this week that his political organization would pay for future advertisements, but the complaints say government-funded broadcasts continued after that statement. They seek injunctions rather than a retrospective finding of liability.
The dispute arrives less than a month before the midterm election. The advertisements began airing in September, carried government-paid disclaimers and appeared in competitive media markets. One closely resembled a 2024 campaign commercial; another promoted the administration’s military action in Venezuela. The DNC says that using public money for this material gives Republican candidates an unlawful electoral advantage. The administration has not yet filed its answer.
The cases will first turn on standing, reviewability and the availability of an injunction, before any court reaches the larger question of when official communications become prohibited propaganda.
