U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon on Sunday ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop airing television ads funded by $20 million in taxpayer money, rejecting the Justice Department's argument that the campaign was already winding down on its own.
Rochon, sitting in Manhattan federal court, granted a temporary restraining order sought by a coalition that includes the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause and Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. The order, which lasts 14 days unless extended, bars the Department of Homeland Security from spending any additional funds on the campaign and directs the administration to cancel all scheduled ads, including those set to air Sunday evening. It also blocks the administration from entering into new agreements or expanding existing ones related to the ads, and stays a purchase order between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and contractor LMD Agency Inc.
The Justice Department had told Rochon late Saturday that a temporary restraining order was unnecessary because "the alleged offending conduct will end tomorrow." The judge disagreed, ruling that the administration’s stated intention to stop the ads did not make the request for a restraining order moot. Rochon further rejected the government’s argument that the coalition lacked legal standing, concluding that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits, that they would suffer harm without the order, and that granting it would serve the public interest.
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