- Sunday’s ruling follows a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog Common Cause, the nonprofit Democracy Forward and other plaintiffs.
- A similar lawsuit, filed by the Democratic National Committee, was filed in federal court in Washington earlier this month.
The big picture: The Trump administration maintains that these ads are public service announcements and that previous Republican and Democratic administrations have used taxpayer-funded advertising to promote government policies.
- Trump pledged to pay for the ads himself after filing both lawsuits, although the White House told Axios there were no plans to reimburse the government for millions already spent on ads.
Driving the news: Plaintiffs in New York lawsuit allege that the Trump administration exceeded congressional authorization and violated advertising and propaganda restrictions.
- In a brief order, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon found that a motion filed by the coalition was “not moot.”
- She found that they had “demonstrated that they were likely to succeed on the merits, that they would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, that the balance of actions was tilted in their favor and that an injunction serves the public interest,” according to the order.
- The suit names as defendants the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
What they say: The coalition said in a statement emailed by Democracy Forward that it was “pleased that the court acted quickly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly illegal political propaganda.”
- The statement added: “There is no legal justification – and no precedent – for the President to use the machinery of government and funds set aside by Congress for other purposes to influence election results that advance his own agenda. »
The White House pointed Axios to Trump’s Truth Social post last week, in which he described the ads as “positive promotion” for the United States.
- DHS representatives did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment Sunday evening.
What’s next: A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss next steps in the case.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from the plaintiffs and the White House’s response to a request for comment.
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