Ranking Member Raskin, Rep. Whitesides Demand Watchdog Probes into Taxpayer-Funded Trump Campaign Ads

Lawmakers Ask Federal Watchdogs to Investigate Administration Officials for Violating Federal Law by Using Public Funds for Propaganda Ads

Washington, D.C. (October 1, 2026)— Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. George Whitesides called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to formally investigate the Trump Administration’s use of taxpayer dollars to produce and air ads promoting President Trump in the weeks before the midterm elections. The lawmakers are seeking a full accounting of what the ads cost, who paid for them and whether officials broke federal law.

“The Trump Administration knows what they are doing is unlawful, as evidenced by their halfhearted attempts to defend their actions. An anonymous White House spokesperson called the ads ‘educational,’ and suggested that they are ‘clearly not political’ because the ‘president is not on the ballot.’ Yet just a few short weeks ago, at his poorly-rated Republican National Convention, President Trump pleaded for his rapidly dwindling ranks of supporters to vote, begging them to ‘pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot.’ The White House can’t have it both ways,” wrote the lawmakers.

On September 23, the White House began airing a 30-second ad labeled “Paid for by the U.S. Government.” Dozens of images of Trump flash across the screen while a singer implores viewers to “love me” and UFC President Dana White calls Trump the “toughest and most resilient person” he has ever met. Days later, the Administration aired another government-funded ad featuring Trump walking down a hallway as audio from a political rally attacks the “Deep State” and promises to “expel the warmongers” from government.

The White House has labeled the ads “public service announcements,” a patently false characterization of taxpayer-funded praise for the President. One credits Trump with reviving American manufacturing, even as the United States has lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs during his second term. Another boasts that he is defending law and order while federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people since he returned to office. And Trump uses an ad paid for by the public to rail against “warmongers” while his war with Iran has taken the lives of 22 American servicemembers and cost more than $43 billion.

The lawmakers are asking federal watchdogs to investigate potential violations of multiple laws, including:

• Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026: Section 718 prohibits the use of appropriated funds for unauthorized domestic “publicity or propaganda.” GAO has explained that the prohibition reaches government self-promotion, including “self-aggrandizement” and “puffery.”
• Hatch Act of 1939: Federal employees may not use their official authority to interfere with an election. Although the President is exempt from the Hatch Act, Administration employees who helped create, approve or distribute the ads are not.
• Anti-Deficiency Act: Federal officials cannot authorize expenditures beyond what an appropriation permits. If Congress prohibited spending public money on propaganda, officials cannot lawfully charge taxpayers for these ads.
• Federal criminal statutes: Federal law prohibits the theft or knowing misuse of public money.

Ranking Member Raskin and Rep. Whitesides demanded that GAO identify the source, accounts and total amount of taxpayer funds used to produce and distribute the ads across major television markets and official White House social media channels. They also requested a legal determination on whether the ads violate federal law. The lawmakers asked OSC to investigate potential Hatch Act violations and determine who should be held accountable.

“President Trump is obviously desperate for the American people to ‘love’ him, a problem that goes beyond your jurisdiction. But stealing taxpayer dollars to pay for Mr. Trump’s narcissistic ego trips is plainly illegal. Your agencies have an important responsibility to hold accountable members of his Administration who violate the laws and policies under your purview,” concluded the lawmakers.

Click here to read the letter