The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of using publicly funded television ads to promote his political agenda.
Democratic Party chair Ken Martin said in a Wednesday statement that the advertisements were intended to boost Republican chances in the November 3 midterm elections.
“Donald Trump is misusing millions of taxpayer dollars to fund pure propaganda ads in a last‑ditch attempt to save Republicans in November,” Martin said.
Later that day, Common Cause, a democracy watchdog group, filed a second lawsuit over the same set of ads. It argued that the ads were “overtly political” and therefore violated laws barring public funds for political propaganda.
“These ads are not public‑service announcements,” Common Cause said in its lawsuit, citing a justification Trump has offered for the television spots. “They are personal publicity and political propaganda through and through.”
Both lawsuits allege that Trump directed the White House to repurpose $20 million in funds that Congress allocated for commemorative activities related to border security, including for those killed in the line of duty. They contend that this maneuver violates the separation of powers established in the U.S. Constitution.
“The founders made clear more than 200 years ago that the executive can spend money only according to Congress’s direction,” Common Cause’s lawsuit said.
The two complaints also cite a provision in congressional appropriations bills that bars the use of taxpayer funds for “publicity or propaganda purposes.”
Both suits seek to have the ads declared illegal, to halt further expenditures, and to recover any money already spent on the campaign.
The Democrats’ lawsuit was filed in Washington, DC, while the Common Cause complaint will be heard in the Southern District of New York.
Trump has faced mounting criticism over the ads, which began airing in September. According to the media tracking firm AdImpact, the campaign has cost more than $12 million so far.
The $20 million Trump tapped for the ads comes from a $175 million package Congress assigned to the Department of Homeland Security as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
Critics have pointed out that one of the ads appears nearly identical to a television spot Trump used in his 2024 re‑election campaign.
Three ads have aired so far. In one, a choir sings “love me” over a montage of Trump as he declares the U.S. will “never be a communist country.” Another uses images of Mount Rushmore as Trump heralds a new “golden age of America.” The third is darker: Trump walks toward the camera in black and white, warning of a “final battle” against the “deep state” and other perceived enemies.
A poll released Wednesday by Reuters and Ipsos showed that 86 percent of Americans, including four out of five Republicans, said it was inappropriate for Trump to have used public money for the ads.
Trump has defended the ads as “promotion for the country,” arguing they were similar to public outreach campaigns by previous administrations. After a bipartisan backlash, he said taxpayer funds would no longer be used for future ads, but he did not commit to repaying money already spent.
Members of Trump’s Republican Party have spoken out against the campaign. Senator Thom Tillis (R‑NC) said the advertisements resembled something former Hungarian leader Viktor Orban would produce. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he agreed with the message but emphasized that “it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
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