Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Oct 12: A federal judge on Sunday ordered the Donald Trump administration to immediately stop airing government-funded advertisements portraying the US president favourably, ruling in a lawsuit that challenged the use of taxpayer money for the campaign.
US District Judge Jennifer Rochon of the Southern District of New York issued the injunction after finding that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a likelihood of succeeding in their legal challenge and that continued airing of the advertisements could cause irreparable harm.
The lawsuit was filed by government watchdog group Common Cause, Robert Hunter, a Democratic candidate for a seat in the Alabama state House, and a New York labour union and its political action committee. The case was among several legal challenges seeking to stop the advertisements, including a separate lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee.
"Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits, will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, the balance of the equities tips in their favor, and an injunction serves the public interest," Rochon wrote in her order.
The administration had argued in a court filing on Saturday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through a contractor, had purchased advertising slots only through Sunday and had instructed the vendor not to book additional advertisements beyond that date.
However, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs' case was not moot simply because the administration had said the advertising campaign was due to end. She directed the government to cancel, or ensure the cancellation of, all the advertisements covered by the lawsuit, including those scheduled to air on Sunday night.
The order also prohibits the administration from using funds appropriated to the DHS to develop, produce, distribute, publish or broadcast the advertisements under challenge.
The White House, DHS and the Office of Management and Budget, all named as defendants in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.
MAGA Inc., the political action committee that Trump said last week would help fund the advertisements going forward, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Welcoming the ruling, the plaintiffs said the court had acted swiftly to prevent further misuse of public funds.
"We are pleased the court acted swiftly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly unlawful political propaganda," they said in a statement.
They argued that the president had no legal justification for using government resources and money appropriated by Congress for other purposes to influence electoral outcomes in support of his political agenda.
Common Cause president and chief executive officer Virginia Kase Solomón said the organisation would continue its efforts to ensure accountability over the use of public money.
"We won't stop until this administration is held fully accountable, and no president from any party can waste and abuse taxpayer funds for propaganda ever again," Solomón said.
The advertisements had drawn criticism from opponents who questioned the legality of using taxpayer money to promote the president. One of the spots was reportedly nearly identical to an advertisement used in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
Critics argued that the government-funded campaign amounted to political propaganda and raised concerns over whether public funds allocated by Congress were being used for partisan purposes.
The ruling marks a legal setback for the administration's advertising campaign, although the broader dispute over the use of government resources for politically favourable messaging remains subject to further legal proceedings.