Reed, Top Appropriators Demand White House Immediately Remove Taxpayer-Funded Ad Promoting Trump Off the Air

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee an U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) along with U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member, and U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on FSGG, sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles demanding the Trump Administration immediately remove off the air a taxpayer-funded political ad self-promoting President Trump—and report to the Committees exactly how many taxpayer dollars were spent creating and airing the illegal political propaganda. “This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and utterly illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” write the lawmakers, who note the ad constitutes a blatant violation of Section 718 of Division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, which forbids any federal funding from supporting propaganda, in addition to other federal laws. “We write to demand that you immediately take this ad off the air and appropriately reprimand and discipline the Federal employees who knowingly violated Federal law in working on and paying for this advertisement. In addition, we demand a full account and breakdown of all Federal funds used to create and air this ad,” they continue. “The law is not complicated. You cannot use taxpayer dollars for political advertisements.” The full text of the letter follows: The Honorable Susan Wiles Chief of Staff The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Cc: The Honorable Russell T. Vought, Director, Office of Management and Budget Ms. Wiles: Last night, Fox News aired a government-sponsored political ad that was “Paid for by the U.S. Government”—otherwise known as the American taxpayers. The ad celebrates President Trump with a montage of photos of him and the American flag as singers repeat the words “love me” from JMSN’s song “Love Me.”[1] If President Trump wants people to love him, he can pay for it himself. This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars. This ad is a violation of section 718 of division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, a longstanding general provision prohibiting any taxpayer funds from being used to produce government propaganda. Section 718 states that, “No part of any appropriation contained in the act or any other Act shall be used directly or indirectly, including through a private contractor, for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress.” It is also apparently a violation of Federal ethics laws, including the Hatch Act. We write to demand that you immediately take this ad off the air and appropriately reprimand and discipline the Federal employees who knowingly violated Federal law in working on and paying for this advertisement. In addition, we demand a full account and breakdown of all Federal funds used to create and air this ad. As you are aware, this is not the first time this administration has violated anti-propaganda law[2]. It is unconscionable that repeated violations of appropriations law continue to occur during this Administration, and those violations underscore the failure of the Office of Management and Budget to safeguard taxpayer funding and to consistently and faithfully ensure compliance with the law. No taxpayer funding should be used to air this outrageous propaganda. The law is not complicated. You cannot use taxpayer dollars for political advertisements. Sincerely,