Federal judge sides with Democrats against Trump taxpayer-funded ads — and the White House just responded

An estimated $20 million ad campaign from the Trump administration was blocked by a federal judge who sided with the Democratic National Committee.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said Wednesday that the administration could not create or air advertisements using taxpayer funds.

'Administrations of both parties have used public service announcements to explain policy and make the case for the nation's direction.'

The ad campaign is being challenged in court in three separate lawsuits.

"Here, there is little doubt that Defendants' unlawful use of public funds makes it more difficult for the DNC to achieve its mission of 'electing Democratic candidates in federal, state, and local elections across the Country,'" AliKhan wrote in the ruling.

She added that the administration's "use of public dollars to finance the challenged ads imposes competitive harm on the DNC, causing Democratic campaign prospects to suffer."

The judge ordered the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security to "take all necessary actions to cease distribution of the challenged ads, including through authorized third parties."

After facing pressure about the ads, the president said he would fund them himself and with money he raised for super PAC MAGA Inc.

But AliKhan noted that the ads kept running with a disclosure that read, "Paid for by the U.S. Government."

A White House official said the ruling was "moot" and explained why in a statement to the Washington Sun.

"The PSAs are being paid for by outside groups," the official said. "Administrations of both parties have used public service announcements to explain policy and make the case for the nation's direction."

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The Sun report noted that both former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden ran advertisements during their time in office, but those were meant to publicize specific initiatives.

AliKhan added in her ruling, "Every public dollar spent on airing the challenged ads allows MAGA Inc. — which has already spent $25,000,000 in the 2025-26 federal election cycle to support Republican candidates and oppose Democratic candidates — to conserve its resources for other political efforts adverse to the DNC."

One survey found that a vast majority of Americans, 86%, thought the campaign-style taxpayer-funded ads were inappropriate.

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