Taxpayer money from U.S. Customs and Border Protection funded the pro-Trump television ads that have drawn bipartisan scrutiny just weeks before November's midterm election, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
President Donald Trump personally pushed for the ads and was involved in creating them, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The revelation puts a CBP, part of the Department of Homeland Security, behind a campaign that looks far different from its traditional public messaging. CBP routinely runs ads discouraging illegal immigration. These spots instead feature Trump heavily, tout his tax cuts, attack communism and recycle language from his 2024 campaign.
One ad declares that "America will never be a communist country" as images of Trump fill the screen. Another revives his "final battle" message from the 2024 race and attacks the political establishment and news media.
The ads have already aired thousands of times nationally and locally. CNBC previously reported that more than $1.2 million had been spent airing two of the spots, according to AdImpact, which tracks political advertising spending.
Democrats and at least one Republican senator have questioned whether taxpayer dollars should be used for ads centered so heavily on Trump. Some Democrats in Congress are now calling for investigations into whether money appropriated for border protection is being used to promote the president's political message.
"It appears DHS has dedicated $20 million to this outrageous scheme," Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., wrote in a letter to DHS on Tuesday, saying the department tapped money provided to CBP through Republicans' "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
Federal contracting records show CBP awarded $20 million to Maryland-based advertising firm LMD Agency on Sept. 20 for a "National Media Campaign." The one-year contract was fully funded at the time of the award.
The award came one day after the Office of Management and Budget approved the release of $20 million to CBP under a "Commemorative Events" funding line.
The public contract record does not specify what the "National Media Campaign" entails or establish that LMD worked on the Trump ads. LMD has previously performed advertising work for agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, federal procurement records show.
LMD did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on whether its $20 million contract is connected to the ads, whether it is playing a role in the ad campaign or whether additional advertisements or media buys are planned.
CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the ads or the procurement contract.
Blowback to the ads also spread to federal regulators Tuesday. Watchdog group Public Citizen filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission urging broadcasters to stop airing the ads, while separately asking the Government Accountability Office and Office of Special Counsel last Friday to investigate alleged violations of federal propaganda restrictions and the Hatch Act, which restricts the involvement of federal government employees in political campaigns.
The White House defended the campaign Tuesday, calling the spots public service announcements.
"These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad," a White House spokesperson told CNBC. "The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country."
