Trump’s $19 Million Taxpayer-Funded Ad Campaign Ends Sunday, Officials Say

The Trump administration’s multimillion-dollar ad campaign promoting President Donald Trump and his policies ended Sunday, after costing taxpayers about $19 million, officials said in a court filing.

The administration had allocated $20 million for the ads — classified as “public service announcements” — from U.S. Customs and Border Protection funds, CNN previously reported. In a sworn declaration, senior Department of Homeland Security official Holly Mehringer said advertising company LMD Agency Inc. “purchased media buys under the terms of the Order through Sunday, October 11, 2026, at an approximate cost of $19,000,000.” The department has directed LMD not to make any additional media buys past Sunday, she added, and there are “no plans” to buy more.

Bipartisan backlash and lawsuits

Lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about the campaign, and last week Trump announced he would pay for the ads with funds raised for his super PAC, MAGA Inc. The administration created at least 13 campaign-style ads, some of which aired on networks including CBS, CNN, MS NOW, Fox News and Fox, according to CNN. Watchdog groups including the nonprofit, nonpartisan Common Cause said the ads appeared to violate appropriations law restricting the use of federal funding for propaganda or partisan communications. Common Cause and the Democratic National Committee separately sued the administration over the ads.

In a response to the Common Cause lawsuit, the Justice Department said in a filing late Saturday that an effort to halt the spending should be denied because the ads “will not continue past tomorrow.”

CNN previously reported that Trump personally drove the video ads, including helping select the imagery and videos used, according to a source familiar with the matter. Two Trump advisers said the ads were created in-house by the White House video team, though at least one was produced by a pro-Trump meme group.

The administration’s defense

Mehringer described the ads in her filing as “depicting the President of the United States and his administration’s various efforts related to protecting America’s borders, including enhancements of border security by combating drug trafficking,” though CNN reported that was not the exact substance of many of the ads it obtained. The Justice Department conceded the ads “(attack) a generic list of ‘villains,'” but emphasized they did not address any specific race, electoral candidate or party.

A White House spokesperson said Monday that Trump did not plan to reimburse the government for the money already spent, and officials did not indicate any plans for a refund. The White House Office of Management and Budget last month allocated the $20 million in taxpayer money from CBP for what it called “OBBBA commemorative events” — a reference to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law in 2025. Mehringer emphasized in her declaration that the money funded only the airing of preexisting media, not the creation or production of the videos.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was pressed Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” about whether the taxpayer dollars would be refunded. “Anytime we can do a public service announcement and brag about America, I’m all about it,” Mullin said, pointing to success in securing the border and lowering fentanyl-related deaths. “We should be bragging about what’s happening inside America,” he added.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN.