Rochon issues 14-day halt of $20 million CBP-funded pro-Trump ads

Court found coalition likely to succeed on merits

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon of the Southern District of New York issued the temporary restraining order at 6:45 p.m. EDT on Sunday, four days after the coalition filed its complaint. The order remains in effect for 14 days while litigation continues.

In a four-page order, Rochon found that the coalition demonstrated it is likely to succeed on the merits of its case, will suffer irreparable harm without an injunction, that the balance of equities tips in the coalition’s favor, and that an injunction serves the public interest.

The coalition includes government watchdog Common Cause, Alabama state House candidate Robert Hunter, and Service Employees International Union 32BJ along with its Empire State PAC. In a Sunday statement, the coalition said: “We are pleased the court acted swiftly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly unlawful political propaganda.”

The coalition argued in its complaint that the executive branch spent the money outside of Congress’ direction and that doing so placed “the government’s thumb squarely on the scale” to influence the outcome of the midterm elections. The coalition added: “There is no legal justification — and no precedent — for the president to use the machinery of the government and funds set aside by Congress for other uses to influence electoral outcomes that further his own agenda.”

The ads, which have aired since Sept. 23 and are labeled “Paid for by the U.S. Government,” prompted the coalition to write in its lawsuit that “without this court’s intervention, defendants will continue to run nakedly partisan ads that admit they are ‘Paid for by the U.S. Government’ to plaintiffs’ detriment.”

The Trump administration has rebutted the accusations, describing the ads as public service announcements intended to “remind Americans to love their country and know why its worth defending.” The administration has rejected the characterization that they are campaign ads, noting Trump is not on the Nov. 3 ballot, even as the president has repeatedly instructed voters to pretend that he is.

The Department of Homeland Security told the court on Saturday that it had directed its contractor not to purchase additional advertising after Sunday. Court documents state that $20 million was allocated by the Office of Management and Budget from funds appropriated to Customs and Border Protection to finance the ad campaign.

The ruling comes as Trump has been on a nationwide campaign tour for candidates running in the midterms. The president has previously warned Republicans that if they lose their narrow House majority, he could face impeachment again.

In its Sunday statement, the coalition said it would continue pursuing the case: “As this case moves forward and voters make their voices heard in this election, we will work to ensure the rule of law continues to be upheld, protecting the rights of voters and our democracy.”