Should Congress investigate how taxpayer money is being spent on these ads?
After taxpayer dollars paid for television ads that promote President Donald Trump personally, a former White House ethics attorney revealed the spending could be illegal, and even impeachable.
Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush during his second term, said the ads could be "an impeachable offense." Writing on the social platform X, Painter said: "@POTUS has no right to use taxpayer money for campaign ads." He added, "Congress has expressly prohibited government sponsored political propaganda, which is dangerous for democracy."
One of the White House ads concludes with Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White calling Trump the "toughest, most resilient person that I've ever met." Another clip shows Trump saying during his 2024 campaign that he and his supporters "will demolish the deep state" and "expel the warmongers from our government."
In the same ad, Trump says: "We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all." The campaign has since grown to at least three ads, with total taxpayer spending nearing $1.5 million, including close to $920,000 spent airing one spot alone. Each carries a disclaimer reading "Paid for by the U.S. Government."
Federal law bars executive branch agencies from spending taxpayer-appropriated funds on what statute calls "publicity or propaganda" purposes, a restriction separate from campaign finance rules. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the ad campaign.