Skip to content 
New York — The federal government must pull three taxpayer-funded Trump administration ads apparently made for political or propaganda purposes, including one touching on the president’s claim that every American will receive $5,000 if Republicans retain control of Congress in the upcoming election, a judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon in New York ordered a coalition, including the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause, to order the government to run ads titled “$5,000 to Americans,” “All Democrats Vote Against Any Tax on Tips,” and “Bring Down the Cost of Socialism.”
She said that they must be removed from official government websites, including social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram and the like. She also ordered the cancellation of slots, placements, bookings or arrangements for the ads to be aired or distributed through authorized third parties, including by Trump’s main super PAC, MAGA Inc.
Responding to the decision, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said: “This executive order appointed by Biden issued a lawless order to stop the administration from sharing patriotic videos.”
Rochon was ruling at a hearing in which she considered extending a temporary restraining order she issued two weeks ago, when she banned a series of ads that glorify President Donald Trump and are similar to his political messages going into the midterms.
The White House has defended the ads as public service announcements similar to what past administrations have done to promote various policies. But the recent announcements differ from many past public service announcements because they are not aimed at helping members of the public benefit from specific government programs, according to the plaintiffs.
After Rochon issued the order, she noted that she was doing so on Friday afternoon and that the government would have no excuse to delay taking them down immediately. Rochon was nominated to the court by then President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
A government lawyer admitted that he would be able to immediately contact the appropriate people responsible for taking down the ads.
“Everyone is here. Everyone can hear my order. There is no one at the theater,” the judge said in reference to the excuses given by government lawyers when her recent order, issued on a weekend, was not immediately obeyed.
The plaintiffs wanted at least 13 ads to be removed, but Rochon only ordered the removal of three, at least for now. She said that there are times where the office of the president has the right to inform the public about their policies, to justify their policies and to deal with attacks on their policies.
Rochon said the plaintiffs were trying to limit the office in ways that were “wide and wide” and she found herself siding with the government on many of the ads.
But she said plaintiffs could be irreparably harmed if she didn’t ban the ads while the lawsuit was ongoing, although she noted she could reverse herself and withdraw the ads or ban additional ads after hearing more evidence in the coming weeks.
“This court cannot cancel an election or turn back the clock,” Rochon said after ruling that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claims regarding the ads and would suffer harm if they were not taken down.
“This temporary restraining order will stop the administration’s disregard for the law while the court hears the full case,” said Bradley Girard, an attorney with Democracy Forward. “Congress has made it clear that partisan ads cannot be funded with taxpayer dollars, and we are proud to work with this coalition to win today’s result.”
