DNC files lawsuit challenging White House’s publicly funded campaign ads

In the wake of bipartisan criticism and polls showing overwhelming public opposition to the White House’s use of taxpayer money to finance propagandistic campaign ads, Donald Trump began this week with an unexpected announcement: Going forward, the president said, his well-funded super PAC will start paying for the commercials.

It was a welcome development, although critics made the unavoidable argument that Trump still needed to reimburse Americans for what had already been misappropriated. Making matters worse, there were related questions about whether the president’s declaration was even true.

One day after the Republican vowed to stop using public funds on the midterm propaganda, The New York Times reported on a new taxpayer-funded ad, which bragged about the administration’s military offensive in Venezuela. On Wednesday, The New Republic noted that one of the most controversial of the commercials — a repackaged Trump 2024 campaign ad — aired again on Fox News, complete with the “Paid for by the U.S. Government” label.

In other words, the president issued a written statement on Monday to assure the public that MAGA Inc. would pay for the ads “moving forward,” and in the days that followed, there was ample evidence that nothing had actually changed.

With this in mind, lawyers for the Democratic National Committee have decided to go court. Politico reported:

The Democratic National Committee is suing President Donald Trump and his administration to block taxpayer-funded ads promoting the president, accusing the White House of illegally using public funds to help Republicans ahead of the midterms, per court documents obtained Wednesday by Politico.

In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, the DNC alleges the administration continued airing the ads at government expense even after Trump vowed Monday to use his super PAC, MAGA Inc., to pay for the ads moving forward.

“With less than 30 days remaining before the midterm election and millions of public dollars apportioned to pay for propaganda ads still unspent, the DNC has no choice but to take action in defense of free and fair elections,” the committee wrote in its 31-page complaint.

In a social media message about the case, DNC Chair Ken Martin wrote, “Donald Trump doesn’t get to turn the federal government into his personal campaign operation, and he sure as hell doesn’t get to make taxpayers foot the bill. Using public dollars for partisan propaganda isn’t governing. It’s an abuse of power.”

As The Associated Press reported, a coalition including the nonpartisan watchdog Common Cause has also filed a separate lawsuit alleging an illegal misuse of funds.

Both complaints asked federal judges to issue an injunction to block the White House from continuing to use taxpayer money for the campaign spots.

It is illegal under federal law to use public funds for “propaganda purposes,” and the Government Accountability Office has said the prohibition applies to communications that are “purely partisan” and/or “designed to aid a political party or candidates.”

The White House did not comment on the lawsuits, but officials have spent the past couple of weeks saying the campaign ads should be seen as “public service announcements,” which continues to be a claim so preposterous that it’s insulting. Watch this space.

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