Four days before the midterm elections, a federal judge in New York has ordered the Trump administration to stop running three taxpayer-funded political ads and to scrub them from government websites and social media.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued the order Friday afternoon, October 30, after a hearing in Manhattan. The ads covered by the order are titled “$5,000 to Americans,” “Every Democrat Voted Against No Tax on Tips,” and “Cost of Socialism.”
What the judge ordered
Under the order, the administration is barred from disseminating the three ads and must “immediately remove” them from official government websites, including social media sites such as YouTube and Instagram.
The judge went further: the government must cancel, or cause to be cancelled, any slots, placements or reservations for the ads through authorized third parties, specifically including airings by MAGA Inc., the pro-Trump super PAC. The administration was also told to serve a copy of the order on MAGA Inc. and to file a status report within 24 hours confirming it has complied.
The order, entered at 3:20 p.m., stays in effect for 14 days unless the court extends it. That carries it well past Election Day on Tuesday, November 3.
Why the judge stepped in
The lawsuit, brought by the watchdog group Common Cause along with Robert Hunter, SEIU Local 32BJ and the union’s Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC, challenges the use of federal appropriations to pay for a TV and social media ad campaign featuring President Trump in the weeks before the midterms. The plaintiffs argue the spending goes beyond what Congress authorized and violates restrictions on government “publicity or propaganda.”
In her ruling, Rochon found that the plaintiffs had shown “a clear and substantial likelihood of success” on their claim that the administration acted beyond its legal authority with respect to at least three of the challenged ads, and that they faced irreparable harm without an injunction. She granted the request in part and denied it in part.
Not the first time
Friday’s order expands on a temporary restraining order the same judge issued on October 11, which was later extended with both sides’ consent until November 20. As the Associated Press reported at the time, the Department of Homeland Security had tapped $20 million in taxpayer money for the ad campaign, and President Trump had said he would pay for the ads from his political fundraising amid the backlash.
The administration pushes back
Within hours, the Justice Department asked the judge to change the order. In a letter to the court, government lawyers said MAGA Inc. is not a party to the lawsuit and argued that the named defendants “cannot control MAGA, Inc.,” so they cannot comply with the part of the order covering the super PAC’s airings. They asked Rochon to remove that requirement.
As of Friday evening, the judge had not ruled on that request. With Election Day just days away, what happens next will decide whether the ads disappear from the airwaves entirely before voters head to the polls.