Judge bars OMB and DHS from airing five government-funded TV ads before midterms

A federal judge in Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 28, barred the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security from developing and airing five federally funded television ads, six days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan granted the Democratic National Committee a temporary restraining order in Democratic National Committee v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-03506.¹

What the order requires

• It puts on hold OMB's $20 million apportionment for producing and running the ads under a Sept. 20, 2026, DHS purchase order.
• It bars OMB and DHS from developing and airing the five ads, directs them to stop their distribution, including through authorized third parties, and requires them to give a copy of the order to LMD Agency, the ad firm that received the purchase order.
• The government must file a status report describing its compliance by Oct. 30, and the parties must propose a preliminary injunction briefing schedule by Nov. 2.
• The order lasts 14 days unless the court extends it. The DNC must post a $1 bond.¹

The five ads are “The Country He Loves” (also called “Love Me”), “Maduro,” “Final Battle,” “Mount Rushmore” and “American Military Power.” The first began airing Sept. 23 and the last Sept. 30. The ads closed with a “Paid for by the U.S. Government” disclosure; the opinion notes the DNC did not say whether “American Military Power” did. At this stage, the order does not cover other ads the DNC says were developed using White House staff.¹

How the ads were funded

According to the opinion, the money came from a $6,168,000,000 appropriation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; its listed uses include commemorating border security efforts and events. CBP asked OMB for $20 million on Sept. 19, 2026, and OMB approved it in under two hours. DHS issued the purchase order to LMD the next day. Citing a DHS declaration, the opinion says LMD had made about $19,000,000 in media buys as of Oct. 11.¹

President Donald Trump said Oct. 5 that he would pay for the ads with money raised for MAGA Inc., the opinion says. AliKhan wrote that “that promise went unfulfilled,” noting the ads kept airing with the government disclosure for at least another week.¹

In a separate case, Common Cause v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 26-CV-8882, the federal court in Manhattan entered a temporary restraining order effective Oct. 11 that, after two extensions, the latest on Oct. 22 on consent motions from the parties, runs through Nov. 20, AliKhan's opinion says.¹

What each side says

The DNC, which sued Oct. 7 under the Administrative Procedure Act, called the spending “a blatant violation of the statutory ban on the use of appropriations for ‘publicity or propaganda purposes.’”² DNC Chair Ken Martin said Wednesday that the court “delivered a victory for the rule of law and for American taxpayers.”³

Justice Department lawyers argued in an Oct. 11 filing that DHS “has directed the vendor not to make any additional media buys past October 11,” that airing the ads is not an agency action courts can review, and that such disputes “are better left to the political process than the courts.” They asked for a bond and for any order to be stayed pending appeal.⁴ AliKhan denied the stay, writing that it would be premature because the government had not decided to appeal.¹

A White House official told the Washington Sun the ruling was “moot” and said, “The PSAs are being paid for by outside groups.”⁵

What the records do not show

• The order does not decide the merits or the DNC's separate claim against the White House Office.¹
• SignalData found no notice of appeal as of Wednesday afternoon.
• The records do not show whether any of the five ads are still airing or which outside groups, if any, are paying for them.