Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA), on behalf of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ (SEIU 32BJ), Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC, Common Cause and Robert Hunter, a candidate running for the State House in Alabama, sued in response to political advertisements paid for by the United States government, arguing that the ads are unlawful and exceed statutory authority. CLCA and co-counsel filed a complaint to take these ads down and to stop the government from funding these types of ads.
Back to topWith voting already underway for the 2026 midterm elections, President Donald Trump and members of his administration are illegally and unconstitutionally using taxpayer funds for overtly political television advertisements.
On behalf of a local branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC, Common Cause and...
In late September 2026, the federal government ran three television advertisements featuring President Donald Trump. The three ads were paid for by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These ads were part of a coordinated advertising campaign that was disseminated to voters through paid media channels. In addition, these ads were publicly released, broadcast to a broad audience, and formed part of an overall effort to communicate with and persuade voters during the election. Each ad presented a different message, but together they operated as components of a single electoral communications strategy.
DHS paid for the advertisements with money Congress appropriated for unrelated reasons. The actions of DHS are therefore illegal.
Campaign Legal Center Action, Democracy Forward and the Public Integrity Project, on behalf of SEIU Local 32BJ, Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC, Common Cause and Alabama state congressional candidate Robert Hunter, filed a lawsuit seeking to get these ads taken off the air and to prevent the government from running these kinds of ads in the future.
In addition to filing a lawsuit, Campaign Legal Center also filed a Hatch Act complaint related to these ads.
