Dems Sue to Block Trump From Using Taxpayer Funds for Political Ads

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Dems Sue to Block Trump From Using Taxpayer Funds for Political Ads

The Democratic National Committee sued President Trump and his administration Wednesday over the taxpayer-funded campaign-style ads they have been running ahead of the November midterm elections.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia, says that the ads are "a blatant violation of the statutory ban on the use of appropriations for 'publicity or propaganda purposes.'"

The suit says that Trump has, by his own words, sought to place himself at the center of the midterm elections, telling voters to pretend that he is on the ballot. At the same time, he has struggled to overcome low poll numbers.

"In response, President Trump and his allies have searched for ways to promote his perceived achievements, restore some measure of popular approval for his Administration, and save Republicans from overwhelming defeat in the midterm election," the court filing says. It adds: "The propaganda ads are an attempt to aggrandize the President and to portray the President and the Republican Party in a beneficial light. They also echo campaign themes presented by the Republican Party at the Midterm Convention and in other contexts. The partisan aim of the propaganda ads is beyond question."

The Democratic group further alleges that it has been harmed by the public funding of the ads. "The Trump Administration's illegal use of taxpayer dollars for campaign-style advertisements deprives the DNC of a fair electoral process by adding public funds to the resources available to support Republican candidates," the lawsuit says. "The use of public funds also places the DNC and Democratic candidates at an electoral disadvantage, even though the publicly funded propaganda advertisements are deeply unpopular with American voters, by preserving funds held by campaign committees and PACs-including MAGA Inc.-for other political expenditures."

In the face of a bipartisan backlash to the public funding of these ads, Trump said Monday that he or his MAGA Inc. super PAC would pay for the ads going forward. The White House reportedly confirmed, though, that Trump will not reimburse the government for that more than $10 million that had already been spent airing the ads.

The DNC suit says that, even after Trump's announcement, ads have continued to run with the notice that they are 'Paid for by the U.S. Government.'

The Democrats are seeking to have the court declare that Trump and his administration acted unlawfully and block them from continuing to use funds appropriated by Congress to develop and air the ads.

Healthcare and Gasoline Costs Are Top Affordability Worries: Poll

The cost of living is the most important issue for voters this year, according to new polling data released this week by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research organization.

Asked about six major issues, including the war with Iran, immigration policy and fraud in government programs, 62% said it is "extremely important" to them that politicians discuss the cost of living, with another 28% saying it is "very important." High living costs were the most important topic for Democrats, with 73% citing that issue, and for independents (63%). Fraud in government programs was chosen as the most important topic by Republicans (54%), followed by the cost of living (47%).

The top economic concerns are the cost of healthcare (which includes the cost of health insurance and the cost of out-of-pocket expenses like copays for doctors' visits and prescription drugs) and the cost of gasoline and other transportation costs, with 25% of respondents picking each topic. The cost of food is also a concern, with 20% of respondents saying they are very worried about it.

When asked to express their top concerns in their own words, the most common response involved wanting to hear how candidates plan to address healthcare costs. "To make sure that people's needs are met," said a 37-year-old Democrat from Michigan. "It's sad people have to choose between eating and getting their medicine." A 54-year-old Republican from North Carolina said, "Health care needs to be free for all citizens."

Dr. Drew Altman, the president and CEO of KFF, said healthcare costs continue to be a worry, even if the issue isn't in the headlines every day. "Of all the cost-of-living worries hitting voters now, a big health care bill is the least predictable, and that's a big reason why health care costs are right up there with gas prices and the costs of food and housing on voters' minds," he said.

The KFF Health Tracking Poll of 1,328 U.S. adults was conducted September 16-21, 2026.

Quotes of the Day: Key GOP Candidates Back Away From Trump Policies

"It's not tariffs. ... It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel. When it's over $6 per gallon for diesel ... people are feeling the pinch. So I'd say that's probably the biggest problem, and that pinch drives up food prices and everything else.... That's by far our biggest problem, and I think that's why we're having a hard time with numbers."

• Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, lamenting the effects of the Iran war in leaked audio published Wednesday by Axios. The audio clip is reportedly from a closed-door Paxton fundraiser last month with donors and lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

Paxton was responding to a question from an attendee who asked what issues are "dragging" on his campaign. Asked what he could do to address the affordability concerns he cited, Paxton pointed to his tax cut plan and proposal to boost the child tax credit. He acknowledged that he can't end the war or control gas prices. "So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don't make the decisions, and I don't - I don't know what's behind some of the decisions."

The Axios report comes as President Trump is heading back to Texas today for the third time in less than a month to stump for Paxton in San Antonio. And it's not the first time that Paxton has pointed a finger at Trump's decisions for his campaign struggles. The New York Times last week published audio, reportedly from the same meeting, of Paxton complaining that Trump's midterm convention last month in Dallas "dropped our numbers."

Paxton's campaign downplayed any suggestion of a rift with the president.

"This is a non-story. The Attorney General said what every Texan already knows: gas and diesel prices are too high, and hardworking Texans are struggling at the pump and at the grocery store," a Paxton spokesperson told Axios. "President Trump is doing everything he can to bring prices down, and Ken Paxton is going to Washington to help him by putting money back in families' pockets."

"Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now. As Michigan's senator, I'll bring both parties together to lower your prices. That's job No. 1."

• Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, distancing himself from President Trump's trade and tariff policy in a new campaign ad released Tuesday.

Rogers is locked in a tight race against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed for a seat that could be crucial in deciding control of the Senate. The Republican had previously put out another ad in which he called for the Iran war to end "quickly." Neither of the ads mentioned Trump by name.

Trump Allows Truckers to Use Untaxed Diesel

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday that allows truckers to use a type of diesel fuel that is usually reserved for farmers and construction companies. The move makes "red-dyed diesel" available to truckers, who can avoid paying the federal tax of 24.4 cents per gallon that is applied to the standard version of the fuel.

Under normal conditions, truckers who use the untaxed, red-dyed diesel - which is literally dyed red to make it easy to detect - can be fined $1,000 or more if they get caught. With Trump's executive order, no fines will be imposed on such use through the end of the year, essentially providing a tax holiday for truckers.

The executive order comes as diesel prices sit near record highs due to shortages stemming from the ongoing war with Iran. Diesel hit a record $6.52 per gallon a few weeks ago, and is currently at $6.30, according to AAA. That's about $2.60 per gallon higher than a year ago - and a severe problem for those who rely on the fuel for their businesses.

Experts, though, say the tax holiday may not help many drivers. Red-dyed diesel can be hard to find, and national trucking firms may avoid using it so they don't run afoul of state-level rules. "The largest diesel users are the least likely to use dyed diesel," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote on social media. "A national carrier crossing five or six states in a day faces enormous risk with a patchwork of rules, legal in one state, and subject to fines in the next."

The executive order may not help farmers much, either. The fuel they use in their farm equipment is already exempt from federal fuel taxes, and the trucks they use to haul their products on the roads have completed most of their work this year.

At the same time, if lots of truckers start seeking out red-dyed diesel, it could leave farmers worse off. "I think there's a real chance this could backfire and make the situation worse for farmers," Michigan State University economist David Ortega told the Associated Press. "Basically anybody that's running a truck on the highway on regular diesel can now be using this off-highway diesel. Even someone that owns a diesel pickup truck potentially has access to this other type of diesel."

The fundamental problem, it seems, is that there's not enough diesel to go around at a price that works for millions of truckers and farmers.

Fiscal News Roundup

• Trump Makes Third Trip to Texas in Less Than a Month Despite Ken Paxton Audio Leaks – CNN
• DNC Sues to Stop Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ad Blitz – Axios
• Trump Will Not Reimburse Federal Government for Taxpayer-Funded Advertisements – Politico
• Johnson Defends Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads - but Says It's 'Good' MAGA Inc. Is Paying Now – Politico
• Watchdog: Trump Administration Illegally Withheld Federal Research Funds – The Hill
• Trump's $90 Medicare Rebate Rolls Out, but Millions Aren't Eligible. Critics See a Political Stunt – Associated Press
• Mike Rogers Changes Tune on Tariffs, Trade War With Canada – Detroit Free Press
• As Concerns Over Health Costs Mount, Trump Tries Cash – The Hill
• Fed Officials View Another Rate Hike as 'Likely,' Meeting Minutes Show – The Hill
• Colleges Seek Answers Amid Trump Push to Cancel Tax Exemptions Over Diversity Programs – Politico
• Trump Sons' Investments Have Won Billions in Pentagon Contracts Since His Election – ABC News
• Trump Admin to Receive $100 Million in Compute Credits for AI Science Initiative – Politico
• Trump's Executive Order on Dyed Diesel Will Offer Little Relief, Farmers and Truckers Say – Associated Press
• Republicans Enter Triage Mode as Their Election Hopes Continue to Dim – Politico
• Raskin Seeks to Preserve Trump's DC "Propaganda" in Smithsonian – Axios
• Billionaires Are Fleeing California. The Tax Agency Is Preparing to Chase Them. – Politico
• These Influencers Are on a Mission to Stop People From Paying Medical Bills – Wall Street Journal

Views and Analysis

• Inside Bessent's Treasury: Tension, Turnover and Unmet Economic Goals – Brian Schwartz, et al., Wall Street Journal
• Paxton's Latest Audio Leak Is Making Things Tough for National Republicans – Meredith Lee Hill and Alex Gangitano, Politico
• Trump Keeps Promising Checks to Americans. Polls Show Voters May Not Be Buying It. – Ben Werschkul, Yahoo Finance
• The New Welfare Queen Is Brad. Right-Wing Pundits Are Furious. – Theodore R. Johnson, Washington Post
• The Letters Accompanying Trump's Gimmicky ACA Refund Checks Makes Them Even More Cynical – Zeeshan Aleem, MS Now
• The Global Fiscal Reckoning Is Here – Neil Irwin, Axios
• The Political Economy of Diesel – Robert Kuttner, American Prospect
• Hegseth Saw the Future of War but Can't Lead the Way – Andreas Kluth, Bloomberg
• Billionaires Love This School Policy. Many Regular Parents Hate It – Jessica Grose, New York Times