Taxpayer-funded ads aired hundreds of times after judge ordered Trump to halt the push

By Betsy Klein, Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge on Sunday ordered the Trump administration to cancel all further airings of President Donald Trump’s controversial taxpayer-funded ads. But the spots continued to air after the deadline, prompting further legal maneuverings.

A Justice Department lawyer on Monday apologized “to the court and the plaintiffs” for the delay in complying with the order.

The unprecedented ads, which were classified as “public service announcements,” began in late September. Watchdog groups, including the nonprofit, nonpartisan Common Cause, said the ads were a clear violation of appropriations law restricting the use of federal funding for propaganda or partisan communications.

A coalition led by Common Cause challenged the “blatantly unlawful political propaganda” in a New York federal court. The Democratic National Committee also separately sued over the ads.

On Saturday, as Judge Jennifer Rochon considered Common Cause’s motion for a temporary restraining order to halt the use of taxpayer funds, the Justice Department told Rochon the ad push was set to end Sunday night.

But Rochon, an appointee of Joe Biden, concluded the impending end of the ad campaign didn’t render the lawsuit moot. Rochon granted the restraining order and told the administration to halt any further airings as of 6:45 p.m. ET Sunday.

CNN and other news outlets reported on the court order immediately. But the Justice Department claimed in a Monday evening letter that the relevant lawyers at the Department of Homeland Security “did not become aware” of the order “until this morning.”

DHS was responsible because the administration allocated $20 million for the ads from US Customs and Border Protection.

An advertising company, LMD Agency Inc., “purchased media buys under the terms of the Order through Sunday, October 11, 2026, at an approximate cost of $19,000,000,” senior Department of Homeland Security official Holly Mehringer said in a sworn declaration in the case.

Mehringer said there were “no plans” to purchase any additional ads.

The ad campaign sparked bipartisan criticism. On October 5, Trump acknowledged the backlash and said, “I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.,” his super PAC.

But the taxpayer-funded ads continued to air for six days.

There were at least 13 campaign-style ads, some of which aired on TV networks including CBS, CNN, MS NOW, Fox News and Fox.

CNN previously reported that Trump personally drove the ad campaign, including helping select the imagery and videos used, according to a source familiar with the matter. Two Trump advisers familiar with the ads said they were created in-house by the White House video team — which is part of the communications team, responsible for the administration’s public messaging — though at least one of them was produced by a pro-Trump meme group.

Mehringer, in the court filing, described the ads as “depicting the President of the United States and his administration’s various efforts related to protecting America’s borders, including enhancements of border security by combating drug trafficking,” though that is not the exact substance of many of the ads obtained by CNN.

And while the Justice Department conceded the ads “(attack) a generic list of ‘villains,’” it emphasized they did not “address any specific race, electoral candidate, or party.”

The Justice Department’s Saturday court filing said Common Cause’s effort to halt the spending should be denied because the ads “will not continue past tomorrow.”

The judge’s order was intended to halt the ads before primetime TV programming Sunday night.

But data shared by AdImpact and reviewed by CNN showed that two ads — “Final Battle” and “Maduro” — aired hundreds of times after the 6:45 p.m. ET deadline. Another ad, “The Country He Loves,” aired most recently at 12:17 p.m. Monday, according to the AdImpact data.

The Justice Department’s follow-up letter Monday admitted to the airings and apologized to the court, then went on to insist the government “is in compliance” with the order.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was pressed during an appearance Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on whether the taxpayer dollars would be refunded, and gave no indication that the money would be.

“Anytime we can do a public service announcement and brag about America, I’m all about it,” Mullin said, taking aim at negative coverage of the Trump administration as he pointed to success in securing the border and lowering fentanyl-related deaths.

“We should be bragging about what’s happening inside America,” he said, adding, “I commend the opportunity of President Trump to give us the opportunity to brag about America.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.