Trump Administration Diverts $20 Million to TV Ads From Border Security, Memorial Funds
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 1
Trump Administration Diverts $20 Million to TV Ads From Border Security, Memorial Funds
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 1
Summary
$20 million was shifted by the White House budget office into a DHS “commemorative events” account days before the department awarded a same-size contract for a national media campaign now airing pro-Trump ads.
OMB records show the account had been slated for just $1 million, and the added money came from nearly $6.7 billion Congress earmarked for border inspection equipment, surveillance, biometrics and anti-drug-trafficking security.
Democrats and outside lawyers say the ads may violate anti-propaganda spending limits, the Hatch Act and the Antideficiency Act because Congress authorized memorials and commendation ceremonies, not campaign-style messaging.
The White House calls the spots patriotic public service announcements and says they will expand, even as one ad echoes a 2024 Trump campaign video and another has drawn a copyright complaint over unauthorized music use.
The dispute lands in an election season already saturated with Trump-aligned spending, with adviser-led super PACs having spent more than $185.8 million on midterm ads.