On October 11, 2026, a federal judge in New York ordered the Trump administration to stop airing a $20 million, taxpayer-funded television campaign that critics call political messaging and the White House calls public service announcements. The order is temporary and lasts two weeks, and it does not decide whether the spending was lawful.
Government Advertising in the US 2026 – Introduction
Government advertising in the US usually means recruiting spots, disaster warnings, and health campaigns, and it costs about $1.3 billion to $1.8 billion a year. In 2026 it also means a fight in federal court. The Department of Homeland Security paid $20 million for a national television campaign that began airing in late September, six weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. Plaintiffs say the ads promote President Trump. The White House says they are public service announcements.
This report separates what is established from what is argued. The court order, the dollar amounts, and the timeline come from court filings and named news organizations. The legal questions, including whether a ban on appropriated money for “publicity or propaganda” applies, remain open. The report covers baseline federal advertising spending, the DHS campaign, the court order, the earlier DHS campaigns, and the record political ad market the government ads compete in.
Interesting Facts about Government Advertising in the US
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL AD DOLLARS, 2026 ($ MILLIONS)
PROJECTED US POLITICAL ADS, 2026 CYCLE ████████████████████████████ 11,600
FEDERAL ADVERTISING, 2023 (LATEST FULL) ██████ 1,800
DHS TV CAMPAIGN, 2026 ▏ 20
| Fact | Data |
|---|---|
| Court order date | October 11, 2026, Judge Jennifer L. Rochon, Southern District of New York |
| Type and length of order | Temporary restraining order, 2 weeks |
| DHS ad contract | $20 million to LMD Agency, starting September 20 |
| Spent as of a court filing | About $19 million |
| Campaign start on air | Late September 2026 |
| Federal advertising spending, 2023 | More than $1.8 billion (up from $778.5 million in 2018) |
| Projected 2026 political ad spending (AdImpact) | $11.6 billion |
| Political ad spending to date | About $7.6 billion, with about $4 billion still to come |
| General election | November 3, 2026 |
The DHS campaign is small next to the political ad market. $20 million is about 0.17% of the $11.6 billion AdImpact projects for the cycle, and about 1.1% of the $1.8 billion federal agencies spent on advertising in 2023. Those percentages are our calculations. Size is not the dispute. The argument is about whose message the money carried and which law governs it.
The most recent full-year federal advertising total this report could verify is for 2023. The government has not published a 2025 or 2026 total, so annual comparisons rest on older data. Two things are new in 2026: the money came from a different appropriation than advertising budgets usually use, and a court acted before the campaign ended. The administration said in a court filing that purchases would stop after October 11.
Government Advertising Spending in the US in 2026
FEDERAL ADVERTISING SPENDING ($ MILLIONS)
2018 ██████████████████ 778.5
GAO AVERAGE (ANNUAL) ██████████████████████████████ ~1,300
2023 ████████████████████████████████████████████ 1,800+
DEFENSE DEPT, 2023 █████████████████████████████ 1,140
ARMY, 2023 ███████████████ ~640
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Federal advertising spending, 2018 | $778.5 million |
| Federal advertising spending, 2023 | More than $1.8 billion |
| GAO estimate of typical annual spending | About $1.3 billion (top 25 US advertisers) |
| Defense Department advertising, 2023 | $1.14 billion |
| Army advertising, 2023 | Nearly $640 million |
| Army marketing and advertising budget, FY2025 plan | About $1.1 billion (up 10%) |
| Drivers of the increase | Pandemic response, inflation, military recruiting |
Data Source: Government Accountability Office; USAspending.gov data analyzed by Rebuild Local News; US Army budget briefing
Federal agencies spent more than $1.8 billion on discretionary advertising in 2023, more than double the $778.5 million of 2018, according to USAspending.gov data. The Defense Department accounted for $1.14 billion, and the Army alone for nearly $640 million. The Government Accountability Office describes the government as one of the top 25 US advertisers at about $1.3 billion a year, with recruiting, public health, disaster messaging, and service awareness as the main categories.
Recruiting explains much of the growth. The Army planned a marketing and advertising budget of about $1.1 billion for fiscal year 2025, up 10%, to address enlistment shortfalls. Public service advertising of this kind aims to help people use a government program or follow a safety rule. The 2026 DHS campaign differs because, as CBS News and the Associated Press report, its ads do not promote a specific program. They echo a political message, which is why the funding source matters.
DHS National Media Campaign 2026: Timeline and Cost
DHS AD CAMPAIGN TIMELINE, 2026
SEPT 19 ██████████ OMB gives CBP $20M for "OBBB Commemorative Events"
SEPT 20 ████████████████ DHS awards LMD Agency $20M, "National Media Campaign"
LATE SEPT ██████████████████████ Ads begin airing
OCT 5 ██████████████████████████ Trump says his political account will pay
OCT 11 ████████████████████████████████████ Judge orders ads stopped
| Date (2026) | Event |
|---|---|
| September 19 | The Office of Management and Budget grants Customs and Border Protection $20 million for “OBBB Commemorative Events” |
| September 20 | DHS awards $20 million to LMD Agency for a national media campaign |
| Late September | Ads begin on programs that include college and NFL football |
| September 29 | Senators learn DHS has committed $20 million |
| October 5 | Trump defends the ads as standard and says he will pay from his political fundraising |
| October 6 | Fifth ad begins airing, about the capture of Venezuela’s former leader |
| October 11 | Judge Rochon orders remaining ads canceled |
Data Source: CBS News and Associated Press; contracting records; court filings; PBS NewsHour
The funds trace to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A DHS official told the court in a declaration that the money came from funds Congress appropriated and that are available for activities including commemorating border security efforts. The ads disclose that the government paid for them. One repeats a 2024 Trump campaign spot, another features Trump discussing the threat of communism, and the fifth covers the Maduro capture. CNN’s reporting counts at least 13 campaign-style ads created. A single filing put spending at about $19 million, and PBS noted the true cost could run higher depending on how networks classified the ads.
The administration’s account differs from the plaintiffs’. A White House official said the ads are clearly not political, noting that the president is not on the ballot and that the spots carry no call to action. The administration also said its ad buys would end after October 11 and that DHS told its vendor not to buy more. Trump said on October 5 that he would pay for the ads from his political account, but the White House said it had no immediate plans to reimburse the government for money already spent.
Court Order on Government Advertising in 2026
THE RESTRAINING ORDER: KEY NUMBERS
DURATION OF ORDER (DAYS) ██████████████████████████████ 14
DHS SPENDING IN QUESTION ($M) ████████████████████████████████████████ 20
SPENT PER FILING ($M) ██████████████████████████████████████ 19
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Court | US District Court, Southern District of New York |
| Judge | Jennifer L. Rochon |
| Order | Temporary restraining order, effective immediately |
| Duration | 2 weeks |
| Plaintiffs | A coalition including Common Cause, represented by Democracy Forward |
| Defendants | The White House, DHS, and the Office of Management and Budget |
| What it bars | New or expanded agreements for developing or airing the challenged ads |
| Separate lawsuit | The Democratic National Committee also sued over the ads |
Data Source: US District Court for the Southern District of New York; CBS News and Associated Press; NBC News; The Hill
Judge Rochon granted the restraining order on Sunday, October 11, directing the administration to cancel any remaining airings, including ones scheduled that night. The Justice Department had argued an order was unnecessary because the conduct would end the next day. The order also bars the defendants from entering into, renewing, or expanding agreements for the ads for two weeks. If the administration wants to resume the campaign at taxpayer expense, Justice Department lawyers would need to ask the court to lift the order.
A restraining order is not a ruling on the merits. It preserves the situation while the court decides whether to grant a longer injunction. The plaintiffs argue that the administration unlawfully repurposed money Congress set aside for other uses and that the ads are political propaganda. In a court filing, they said the defendants admit appropriated funds paid for the ads. The defendants dispute that the use was unlawful. The next hearing and any ruling on a preliminary injunction will decide the questions that remain open.
Legal Questions and Reactions in 2026
WHO SAID WHAT: POSITIONS ON THE DHS ADS (NAMED SOURCES)
CRITICAL OF TAXPAYER FUNDING ████████████████████████████████████████ Thune, Kennedy, Democrats, plaintiffs
DEFENDING THE ADS ████████████████ White House
| Source | Position |
|---|---|
| White House | The ads are public service announcements like those of past administrations |
| White House official | The ads are not political; the president is not on the ballot |
| Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R) | Said the ads should not be paid for with taxpayer dollars |
| Sen. John Kennedy (R) | Said no public official should spend public money on private ads for themselves |
| Plaintiffs (Common Cause, Democracy Forward) | Call the ads unlawful political propaganda |
| Legal experts (cited by CBS) | Suggest the spending may violate a federal ban on using appropriated money for publicity or propaganda |
| Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) | Notes the money came from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act |
Data Source: CBS News and Associated Press; PBS NewsHour; public statements
The legal debate turns on two points. The first is the federal ban on using appropriated money for “publicity or propaganda,” which legal experts say may apply. The second is whether the spending fits the purpose for which Congress appropriated it. DHS says the money was available for commemorating border security efforts. Critics respond that ads about Trump do not commemorate border efforts. Neither point has been decided by a court on the merits. Any statement that the ads were illegal is an allegation until a judge rules.
The political reaction crossed party lines. Thune, a Republican, said the ads should not be taxpayer-funded. Sen. John Kennedy, also a Republican, made a similar point. Democrats in the Senate wrote that the ads resemble state propaganda, and Cuellar tied the funding to the budget law. The Democratic National Committee filed its own suit. For how the November 3 vote is organized, see our US Election System Statistics report, which covers the midterm calendar and turnout baseline.
Earlier DHS Advertising Campaigns, 2025 and 2026
DHS AD CONTRACT VALUES AND COMPARISON ($ MILLIONS)
NEXT-CLOSEST 2025 AD CAMPAIGN (CALIFORNIA MEASURE) █████████ 41
ICE RECRUITING CAMPAIGN ██ 10
DHS CAMPAIGN, ORIGINAL AWARD (MARCH 2025) ████████████████████████████████████████ 200
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Original DHS ad contract (March 2025) | $200 million |
| Value cited by Senate investigators (March 2026) | $220 million |
| Maximum value cited by House Democrats (Nov. 2025) | Up to $240 million |
| Next-closest 2025 ad campaign (AdImpact) | $41 million |
| ICE recruitment ad campaign | $10 million |
| Fox News Channel share of the DHS ad buy | About $9 million |
| Cost of one DHS ad production (Senate report) | $286,137 |
Data Source: Axios and AdImpact; US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; House Oversight Committee Democrats; Federal Procurement Data System
DHS ran a much larger campaign before the 2026 television ads. In March 2025 it awarded a contract worth $200 million to promote its immigration agenda, and Axios reported with AdImpact that it was the most expensive political-style ad campaign of 2025, ahead of a $41 million California ballot-measure effort. Contract values vary by source. Senate investigators cited $220 million, and House Oversight Democrats cited a ceiling of up to $240 million from procurement data. ICE separately spent about $10 million on recruiting ads. The direct-to-camera format those ads used resembles creator-style marketing, a market covered in our Influencer Marketing Statistics report.
Congressional Democrats have pressed DHS on how it awarded the contracts. A March 2026 release from Senate investigators put the cost of one ad production at $286,137 and sought records from the media firms involved. The Senate release describes former Secretary Kristi Noem as recently ousted. DHS disputed that its ads were political in 2025. The investigation requests describe questions, not findings, and no court has ruled on the contract awards.
Political Advertising Context for Government Ads in 2026
POLITICAL AD SPENDING BY CYCLE ($ BILLIONS, ADIMPACT)
2022 MIDTERM CYCLE ████████████████████████████████ 8.9
2024 PRESIDENTIAL CYCLE ████████████████████████████████████████ 11.2
2026 PROJECTION ██████████████████████████████████████████ 11.6
SPENT SO FAR IN 2026 ███████████████████████████ 7.6
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2026 cycle projection | $11.6 billion |
| 2024 presidential cycle | $11.2 billion |
| 2022 midterm cycle | $8.9 billion |
| Spent so far (early October) | About $7.6 billion |
| Still to be spent before Nov. 3 | About $4 billion |
| Broadcast TV projection | $5.6 billion (48% of the total) |
| Connected TV projection | Up to $2.6 billion |
Data Source: AdImpact political advertising projections, as reported by The Desk, Inside Radio, and Five Ones; US News and World Report
AdImpact projects $11.6 billion in political advertising for the 2026 cycle, above the $11.2 billion spent in the 2024 presidential cycle and well above the $8.9 billion of 2022. About $7.6 billion has been spent, and October is historically the heaviest month, so roughly $4 billion remains. Broadcast television takes $5.6 billion, or 48%, and connected TV up to $2.6 billion. The DHS ads aired on the same broadcast programming that carries the heaviest political spending.
That context explains why timing matters. A broadcast campaign aimed at football viewers and morning audiences reaches older, high-turnout viewers. The Brookings Institution estimates baby boomers will cast more than 30% of 2026 midterm votes, a figure covered in our Boomer Generation Statistics in US report. Whether the ads aimed to influence an election is the plaintiffs’ claim, and the administration rejects it. The court has not decided. What the data shows is that the spending landed inside the most expensive midterm advertising window on record.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the judge order on October 11, 2026?
US District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered the Trump administration to cancel any remaining airings of a taxpayer-funded TV ad campaign, effective immediately. The order is a temporary restraining order that lasts two weeks.
How much did the DHS ad campaign cost?
DHS awarded $20 million to LMD Agency for a national media campaign starting September 20. A court filing put spending at about $19 million, and PBS noted the true figure could be higher.
Was the government ad campaign illegal?
No court has ruled on that. The restraining order is temporary and does not decide the merits. Plaintiffs say the spending violated limits on appropriated money, and the administration says the ads are public service announcements.
Who sued over the ads?
A coalition that includes Common Cause, represented by Democracy Forward, brought the case in New York. The Democratic National Committee filed a separate lawsuit.
Where did the money for the ads come from?
A DHS official said it came from funds Congress appropriated that are available for commemorating border security efforts. Records show the Office of Management and Budget granted Customs and Border Protection $20 million for “OBBB Commemorative Events” on September 19.
Will Trump pay back the cost of the ads?
Trump said on October 5 that he would pay for the ads from his political account. A White House official said there were no immediate plans to reimburse the government for money already spent.
How much does the federal government spend on advertising each year?
Federal agencies spent more than $1.8 billion on advertising in 2023, up from $778.5 million in 2018. The Government Accountability Office puts typical annual spending near $1.3 billion. The Defense Department spends the most.
How much will political advertising cost in the 2026 midterms?
AdImpact projects a record $11.6 billion. About $7.6 billion has been spent, and the general election is November 3, 2026.
What happens next in the case?
The restraining order lasts two weeks. The court can then decide whether to issue a longer preliminary injunction, and the Justice Department would need to ask the court to lift the order if it wants to resume the campaign at taxpayer expense.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
