Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) blocked a Senate resolution Tuesday that would have condemned federal spending on television ads promoting President Donald Trump’s policies.
Lummis argued that previous presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, have each aired public service announcements using government resources.
Democrats have expressed sharp outrage at Trump’s decision to begin airing the campaign-style ads this month, arguing the practice is illegal under federal law.
The White House has defended the advertisements, though some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, have said the federal government should not be footing the bill.
At least three ads have aired so far, with the most recent appearing during NFL games and Saturday Night Live, drawing widespread attention from critics and supporters alike.
The White House described the announcements as “about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.”
Unlike a 2024 black-and-white version depicting Trump walking down a hallway wordlessly as dramatic music and a voiceover play, the 2026 edition ends with a disclaimer reading “paid for by the U.S. government.”
Ad tracking firm AdImpact says the three taxpayer-funded ads promoting Trump are nearing a combined cost of at least $1.5 million.
In a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, top Democrats on the Senate and House appropriations committees wrote that the ads represent “the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America.”
The Democrats further called the spending “an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars” in that same letter sent last week.
Democrats and multiple nonpartisan government watchdogs have argued the ads may violate federal laws prohibiting the use of government funds to promote candidates or political parties.
Senate Republicans have also pushed back against ads that pledge to “cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists,” warning Trump against using taxpayer money in such a brazenly political way.
