Pro-Trump ad campaign was financed by DHS: Sources

The funds were moved into a CBP account for "commemorative events."

September 29, 2026, 1:46 PM

The Trump administration used funds from the Department of Homeland Security to air TV ads featuring President Donald Trump in recent days, according to sources familiar with the matter. 

Federal budget records indicate the money was moved into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) account for "commemorative events" on Sept. 19 and federal contract data shows that a contract of $20 million was awarded the next day to the LMD Agency, a Maryland-based advertising agency for a "National Media Campaign." Days later, the ads began airing.

CBP is the the agency within DHS that is responsible for securing the nation's border and ports of entry. The funds appear to have been drawn from Trump's signature tax and spending bill passed in 2025. The bill provided $6.2 billion for a variety of border security improvements, but also for "commemorating efforts and events related to border security."

LMD Agency did not immediately respond to ABC's request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the source of the federal funds. 

DHS has been known to use funds for advertising campaigns, including spending millions of advertisements encouraging people who are in the country illegally to self-deport. 

The federal government has spent at least $1.7 million to air three different TV ads featuring Trump in recent days, according to an estimate from AdImpact, which tracks and analyzes political ad spending across TV, digital and connected TV channels.

Critics say the ads could violate federal propaganda law. The White House has defended them as “public service announcements” and drawn comparisons to past examples ofadministrations that created PSA's to highlight new drug coverage under Medicare and signups for the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

DHS directed inquires to the White House. In a statement to ABC News, a White House spokesperson said: "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. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country." 

Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee responded by sending a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding he answer questions about the breakdown of the funds, whether the ads are expected to continue, and DHS's role in facilitating their airing.

"The American people deserve answers about how this president is literally stealing their tax dollars to air campaign ads celebrating himself -- while doing nothing to help them afford health care or housing," the letter says.