The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has filed a complaint with a federal judge accusing President Donald Trump of using the White House to promote his campaign ads.

The filing, shared by Scott MacFarlane on X, asserts that the administration is violating a court order after the judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the ads. A temporary restraining order is a short-term measure courts use to preserve the status quo while a case moves forward, and this complaint now puts the enforcement question before the court. It marks the latest in a long line of orders the administration has violated or circumvented. In the most recent dispute, over the demolition of the East Potomac Park golf course, the administration cut down nearly 500 historic cherry blossom trees. The administration has also sidestepped compliance with orders in New Jersey — more than 50 times — as well as in Minnesota, Rhode Island, Illinois and several cases in Washington, D.C. Thus far, no one in the administration has been held in contempt for violating the orders, and the court's response to this complaint will indicate whether that record continues.

The new ad, titled "President Trump's Second Term: Stephen Miller," was uploaded to the White House YouTube page a week ago, a search reveals.

Federal employees are prohibited from engaging in political activity under the Hatch Act, the 1939 law that sets those boundaries for the federal workforce, and the White House is blocked from promoting political material using taxpayer dollars. The White House YouTube page is funded by taxpayer dollars.

Among the claims in the ad is that Trump has "unleashed American energy he's building pipelines, he's bringing the price of gas down from the heinous highs of the Biden administration."

"He's taken inflation from the highest level in American history down to 2 percent," the ad claims.

While Trump is promoting new pipelines, that is distinct from funding and actually building them. His so-called "Constitution Pipeline" was first proposed in 2012 and finally approved in 2014 under the Obama administration. It still has not been built, and nothing has been laid, as permitting battles stopped it. Trump allocated $42 million to help with permitting and prestruction work.

Gas prices have risen under Trump's leadership, and he has not delivered on his promise to reduce costs. Although gasoline prices have eased recently, regular gas still averaged $4.27 nationally on October 20, while diesel exceeds $6. His Russian diesel deal offers no guaranteed relief, and proposed natural-gas pipelines will not immediately lower prices for Americans at the pump.

In the past two years, inflation has never fallen to 2 percent. Under Trump, the lowest rate was 2.3 percent in April 2025. Under President Joe Biden, inflation hit a low of 1.4 percent in January 2021. When he left office, Biden handed Trump 2.4 percent inflation. It now sits at 3.7 percent and has been increasing since "Liberation Day" in 2025.