Morning Edition · Tue 13 Oct 2026
Administration Kept Airing Taxpayer-Funded Ads Despite Judge's Order
Taxpayer-funded campaign-style ads kept airing hundreds of times after a federal judge ordered them halted on Sunday, prompting a Justice Department apology to the court on Monday.
Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
Order ignored for hours
Judge Jennifer Rochon granted a temporary restraining order on Sunday, October 11, telling the administration to halt further airings as of 6:45 p.m. ET, CNN reported. AdImpact data reviewed by CNN showed two ads, “Final Battle” and “Maduro,” aired hundreds of times after the deadline, and a third ran as late as 12:17 p.m. on Monday.
A Justice Department lawyer apologised on Monday “to the court and the plaintiffs” for the delay, saying Homeland Security lawyers “did not become aware” of the order until that morning, according to CNN.
$20 million from border funds
The administration allocated $20 million for the ads from US Customs and Border Protection, CNN reported. Media buys ran through October 11 at an approximate cost of $19 million, senior DHS official Holly Mehringer said in a sworn declaration, adding there were “no plans” for more.
A coalition led by Common Cause challenged the ads as “blatantly unlawful political propaganda,” and the Democratic National Committee sued separately, CNN reported. On October 5, President Trump said he would “pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.,” but the taxpayer-funded spots kept airing for six days, according to CNN.