A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to stop airing midterm advertisements funded with $20 million in taxpayer money. The order follows a lawsuit filed last week by the Democratic National Committee, which challenged the spending on ads that were described as strange and ineffective.
The judge's decision halts the ads for now, concluding that the use of public funds likely violates multiple laws, including the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by federal employees, and federal appropriations laws that limit how taxpayer money may be spent.
The ruling is temporary, meaning the administration could seek to overturn it as the case proceeds. The ultimate question of whether the ad campaign legally used public money remains for further court proceedings.