Patty Murray

WASHINGTON – Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, the top Democrat on the Senate committee responsible for federal spending, demanded Thursday that the White House stop airing a taxpayer-funded TV ad promoting President Donald Trump.

In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Murray and other Democrats on the House and Senate appropriations committees asked the Trump administration to tell Congress how many taxpayer dollars it had spent on the 30-second commercial, which aired on Fox News on Wednesday. The clip shows images of Trump cut together in rapid succession, while the president’s voice promises that “America will never be a communist country” – backed by a chorus of singers repeating the words “love me.”

“If President Trump wants people to love him, he can pay for it himself,” Murray wrote, along with fellow Democrats Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland. “This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.”

Despite less than 38% of Americans approving of the job he’s doing as president, according to an average of national polls, Trump has repeatedly asked voters to pretend he’s on the ballot for November’s midterm elections. In a statement, the White House said the ads “are clearly not political” because they “don’t have a call to action.”

“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 CBS News. “The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”

Between the images of Trump, the ad briefly shows a black screen with messages like “reigniting American manufacturing” and “defend law and order and police” in red font. It ends with a clip of Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, praising Trump as “the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met.” The video is set to the song “Love Me” by the singer JMSN.

In their letter, Murray and her colleagues assert the ad violates multiple laws, including government funding legislation Trump signed in February that states the money Congress appropriated may not be used for “publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States.” The lawmakers say the ad appears also to violate the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits government officials in the executive branch from engaging in political or campaign activity.

Speaking at the Capitol on Thursday, some Republican senators criticized the ad, with Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina comparing it to something former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban would do and Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana telling reporters politicians should use their own money to pay for ads.

Despite not being eligible to run for another term, Trump has continued fundraising. At the end of July, his super PAC, MAGA Inc., had more than $400 million on hand.