DNC Sues Trump Administration Over $20M in Federal Funds Used for Midterm Ads
The Democratic National Committee filed suit alleging the Trump administration illegally diverted $20 million in appropriated funds to produce partisan ads ahead of the 2026 midterms, seeking an injunction to stop further spending.
The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally diverting $20 million in federal funds to produce and broadcast partisan political advertisements aimed at boosting Republican fortunes in the 2026 midterm elections and lifting President Donald Trump's approval ratings.
The suit, which argues the spending amounts to unlawful «publicity or propaganda,» claims Trump personally directed the campaign in violation of a longstanding statutory ban on using federal appropriations for such purposes. The DNC is asking the court to declare the expenditures unlawful and to issue an immediate injunction blocking any further use of taxpayer money for the ad campaign.
According to court filings, the Office of Management and Budget transferred the funds from money authorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The OMB then approved reallocating the money into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection line item designated for «Commemorative Events.» The lawsuit notes that congressional committee reports explicitly restricted that line item to line-of-duty death memorials, agency anniversaries, and commendation ceremonies — not political messaging.
«President Trump's political propaganda ads are an attempt to resuscitate his historically low approval ratings and avoid widespread Republican defeats in the 2026 midterm election,» the lawsuit states. It adds that Trump has «nationalized the midterm election, made himself the center of a two-day 'midterm convention,' and repeatedly directed voters to 'pretend that I am on the ballot.'»
Among the advertisements flagged in the filing is one featuring Trump touting the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In another spot, Trump tells viewers: «With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists; we will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists.» A third ad explicitly urges viewers to «pretend I'm on the ballot» in an effort to drive turnout.
The lawsuit also targets ads featuring high-ranking administration officials praising Trump, including War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
DNC Chair Ken Martin framed the legal action as a response to what he described as a misuse of taxpayer money. «Donald Trump is misusing millions of taxpayer dollars to fund pure propaganda ads in a last-ditch attempt to save Republicans in November — so we're suing him,» Martin said in a statement. «As gas and grocery costs rise and his approval numbers continue to crater, this president has stooped to taking money from a fund intended for memorials for Americans killed in the line of duty to promote his failed policies.» He added that «Americans deserve better than to have their hard-earned tax dollars used for Trump's illegal schemes.»
The lawsuit points to mounting pressure on Republicans, citing polling declines in traditional battlegrounds as well as in typically conservative states. According to the filing, those trends leave Democrats «poised to take control of Congress, governor's mansions, and state legislatures around the country.»
The legal challenge arrives as the 2026 midterm cycle intensifies. Republicans are preparing to hold a historic midterm convention in Dallas, an event Trump announced on Truth Social, underscoring his effort to keep himself at the center of the party's electoral strategy. The DNC argues that this approach, combined with the ad campaign, crosses a legal line meant to prevent sitting administrations from using federal resources for political self-promotion.
The lawsuit seeks a court declaration that the Trump administration and the affected federal agencies unlawfully produced and aired the advertisements using congressionally appropriated funds. It also requests an immediate injunction to block further use of taxpayer dollars for the campaign while the case proceeds.
The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
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