Justice Department Apologizes After Trump Ads Air Despite Court Ban

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon had issued a temporary restraining order Sunday in the case of Common Cause et al. v. Department of Homeland Security et al., explicitly requiring the administration to cancel all scheduled broadcasts. Despite this, data from AdImpact revealed that two specific ads ran nearly 400 times after the order took effect, including spots during high-profile programming on CBS and ABC.

Plaintiffs, including Common Cause and the Service Employees International Union, notified the court of the ongoing violations rather than immediately seeking contempt sanctions. The administration claims the Department of Homeland Security did not receive timely notice to pull the spots. The White House has since instructed its outside vendor to freeze future payments and placed the $20 million funding allocation—originally redirected from an Office of Management and Budget account for “commemorative events”—on hold.

The controversial campaign, which features President Trump promoting his political agenda and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussing the war against Iran, faces mounting legal scrutiny. Critics argue the expenditures violate the Hatch Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, prompting the Democratic National Committee to file a separate lawsuit alleging the president personally directed the use of public funds for partisan messaging.