RismadarVoice Reporters
October 6, 2026
US President Donald Trump has said taxpayer funds will no longer be used to pay for television advertisements featuring him following criticism of the government-funded broadcasts ahead of November’s congressional elections.
Trump announced the decision on Monday, defending the advertisements as promoting the United States while saying future spots would instead be financed through funds raised by his political organisation, MAGA Inc.
A White House official subsequently confirmed that MAGA Inc. would fund the advertisements going forward.
The decision followed criticism from ethics experts and lawmakers from both major political parties over the use of federal money for the nationally broadcast advertisements.
The advertisements have appeared during football games and other television programming and include messages praising Trump’s administration and portraying what he describes as a “golden age of America.”
Each of the advertisements carried a disclaimer stating that it had been paid for by the US government.
At least $1.5 million in federal funds had reportedly been spent on the advertisements, although separate estimates of the broader spending associated with the campaign have been higher.
Democratic lawmakers previously said $20 million in Department of Homeland Security funds had been allocated for the advertising effort and called for independent investigations into whether the spending complied with federal law.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday also submitted a complaint to federal watchdog agencies seeking an investigation into the use of taxpayer money for the advertisements.
Bonta alleged that the advertisements amounted to partisan political messaging financed with public funds. His office said the broadcasts had cost taxpayers at least $5.5 million as of Monday.
The allegations of unlawful or improper spending have not been established by a court.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, a Republican appointed by Trump, has defended the advertisements and rejected calls for the FCC to investigate them.
Trump maintained that government-funded promotional advertisements were not unusual but said he had decided that future advertisements would be paid for without taxpayer funds.
MAGA Inc., which supports Trump and Republican political efforts, has accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars and is expected to finance the advertisements going forward.
The announcement does not address whether any of the federal money already spent on the advertisements will be reimbursed.
