WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has tapped $20 million to pay for the campaign-style ads glorifying U.S. President Donald Trump that have drawn widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats as a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars that likely runs afoul of anti-propaganda law. In a letter Tuesday to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, two top Democratic senators said that the money is being drawn from Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” and was supposed to go for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “We should not have to remind you that using government funding to create or air political ads like the ones that have been running over the last few days is illegal and a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars,” wrote Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee that handles Homeland Security funding. The senators demanded answers within the next 48 hours about “how this president is literally stealing their tax dollars to air campaign ads celebrating himself.” They asked the secretary if the department plans to use additional federal funds to air these ads or create new ones, and if so to share contracting information with Congress. They also asked Mullin if he had spoken to Trump about using the taxpayer funds for the ads. The political uproar over Trump’s hagiographic ads, which started running last week during popular TV shows, including college and National Football League programming, has not abated as critics on the left and right raise alarms about the use of taxpayer funds, particularly so close to the midterm elections. The White House has defended the advertisements, which disclose that they are funded by the U.S. government, as public service announcements. Asked for a request for comment Tuesday on the senators’ letter, Homeland Security referred to the earlier White House response. Ad spend is up to US$2.5M as criticism and legal scrutiny grow The unusual commercials, which echo the GOP’s midterm election slogans, against imagery of Trump’s tenure in office -- one with a “Love me, Love me” song refrain in the background -- appear to violate a law against congressionally appropriated funds being used for propaganda. Experts also have said the ads, which are airing on network and cable TV and streaming, differ from other administrations’ PSAs because they aren’t designed to help Americans access any specific program. Over the weekend, a new ad promoting the president resembles a black-and-white video from his own 2024 campaign that shows Trump walking down a hallway as his voice can be heard warning of a “final battle” against “globalists” and “warmongers.” It ends with Trump staring straight into the camera lens with the “Paid for by the U.S. Government” message printed. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, has compared Trump’s ads to those used by authoritarian former leader Viktor Orban of Hungary. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said it “shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.” Data from the outside firm AdImpact shows more than US$2.5 million was spent on the three ads over the past seven days. The actual amount spent could be significantly more, depending on whether networks classified the ads as political. The senators said in their letter that DHS has committed US$20 million to the campaign. A person who was not authorized to discuss the situation and who was granted anonymity confirmed the findings, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Trump’s ads use taxpayer dollars, likely skirting the law The unusual ad campaign comes as Republicans face an increasingly volatile midterm election season with their control of the House and Senate -- and Trump’s future agenda -- all at risk. Voters say they are struggling with high prices of gas and groceries, and are concerned about the lengthy U.S. war against Iran, now in its seventh month. Democrats are gearing up for vast oversight of Trump and his administration if they seize power, and impeachment is not off the table. House Democrats said Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, moved US$20 million from Homeland Security resources to the ad campaign on Sept. 19. The next day, a US$20 million contract for a “National Media Campaign” was awarded to the Maryland-based LMD Agency, Inc., according to federal data. LMD Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Homeland Security funds are part of a whopping US$175 billion Congress gave the department in the “Big, Beautiful, Bill” as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement and deportation agenda. Democrats voted against that package, which Trump signed into law last summer, in part because of its steep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, the ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security subcommittee, said that after gutting US$1 trillion from Medicaid and social services and “more than quadrupling funding for mass deportations, it turns out the Trump administration used Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill to pay for President Trump’s political ads.” They said if the Democrats regain control, they “will work to uncover and reverse misuses of taxpayer money like this and hold those who abused their power accountable.” What’s also striking about the administration’s use of taxpayer dollars for the ads is that Trump’s own political campaign committee, MAGA Inc., is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars of funding that could be used during the midterm season. Groups aligned with MAGA Inc. have started shelling out funds for the House and Senate races. The administration has defended the use of taxpayer dollars for the ads and shown no signs of changing course. Lisa Mascaro And Ali Swenson, The Associated Press
