From the House Oversight Committee Democrats, of which Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) is the ranking member, about this story (“The Department of Homeland Security has budgeted as much as $200 million for its new ad campaign warning migrants in the country illegally that ‘we will find you and deport you'”).
| Ranking Members Connolly and Thompson Launch Investigation into DHS’s $200 Million Bizarre “Thank You Trump” Ad Campaign Awarded to Cronies |
| Washington, D.C. (March 21, 2025)—Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requesting all documents and communications related to the Department’s taxpayer-funded advertising campaign meant to stroke President Trump’s ego—at his own request.
Contrary to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) stated intent of the campaign, reports indicate that – at the express direction of President Trump – DHS has paid significant sums to produce and distribute bizarre ads with the intent of lauding the President’s extreme immigration policies – and thanking him for implementing them. DHS touts the ad campaign as “hyper-targeted” to reach international audiences, but it reportedly purchased a specific $30,000 media buy to air the ads in West Palm Beach when President Trump was in the area.DHS also appears to have skipped the competitive bidding process that ensures taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly, instead awarding this vanity project as a $200 million contract to enrich Republican campaign consultants who worked on the Trump presidential campaign. “Such expenditures suggest that an unstated but primary purpose of the ad is to function as an extension of President Trump’s campaign and to pander to the President, raising concerns of a potential misuse of taxpayer dollars,” the Ranking Members wrote. “Given the significant costs of the advertising campaign, the questionable choices made in deploying the ads, and the awardees’ relationships with President Trump, the Trump campaign, and other federal officials, the Committees seek to ensure that the contracting process was fair, ethical, and compliant with all applicable federal regulations, and that the campaign complies with all relevant prohibitions on the use of taxpayer funds for improper purposes.” Click here to read the letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. |
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