A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Sunday to stop airing ads funded by the U.S.government that portray President Donald Trump in a favorable light, effective immediately.The lawsuit was brought by the watchdog group Common Cause; Robert Hunter, a Democratic candidate for a seat in the Alabama state House; and a labor union in New York and its political action committee.
The suit was one of several similar complaints — including one by the Democratic National Committee — that were filed to get the ads off the air.“Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits, will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, the balance of the equities tips in their favor, and an injunction serves the public interest,” U.S.
District Judge Jennifer Rochon of the Southern District of New York wrote.The administration had said in a court filing Saturday that the Department of Homeland Security, via a vendor, had placed ad buys through Sunday and had told the vendor to not purchase ads beyond that day.Rochon said the plaintiffs’ argument was not moot, however, and ordered the Trump administration to “cancel or cause to be cancelled” any ads from airing or being disseminated, including those set to air Sunday night.Rochon also wrote that the administration was barred from using funds appropriated to DHS to “develop, create, disseminate, place, distribute, publish, or air the challenged advertisements.”The White House, DHS and the Office of Management and Budget, which are all named as defendants in the suit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.
MAGA Inc., which Trump had said last week would help him fund the ads moving forward, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.For SubscribersFOR SUBSCRIBERSBad blood spills over in the Texas Senate race — and it’s tearing Republicans apartFOR SUBSCRIBERSFrustrated by a slowing economy, young Chinese turn to Mao Zedong for g...