NEW YORK, NEW YORK — A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on October 11 to cancel remaining placements of five challenged taxpayer-funded television advertisements, including spots scheduled for Sunday evening.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon’s order pauses a September 20 advertising purchase order and the Office of Management and Budget’s $20 million allocation for the campaign. It also prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from funding the challenged ads.
The order specifically bars contractor LMD Agency from continuing to place or run them. The government must report its compliance within 24 hours.
The administration had told the court that the campaign would end Sunday, the Associated Press and Reuters reported. It has defended the spots as public-service announcements. The plaintiffs contend that the expenditures exceed Congress’s authorization and violate restrictions on government-funded political promotion.
Rochon found the moving plaintiffs likely to succeed and granted temporary relief for 14 days, effective at 6:45 p.m. October 11, subject to extension. A fuller opinion is forthcoming. This is a temporary ruling, not a final judgment resolving the lawsuit.
For television advertising operations, the immediate issue is cancellation of the affected placements. The order addresses the government, its contractor and others acting with them; it does not impose a general ban on political advertising.
Whether every placement has been canceled, whether the administration will appeal and whether the court will extend the restrictions remain unresolved. The order does not decide the separate music-rights dispute covered in RNN’s earlier report on the campaign.
Sources: Signed October 11 court order, Common Cause v. Department of Homeland Security (copy published by plaintiffs’ counsel); Associated Press, October 11, via WKMG; Reuters, October 11, via StreetInsider.