With control of Congress in the balance, the Trump administration is using taxpayer dollars to fund campaign-style TV ads. And they aren’t trying to be subtle.

The ads heavily feature and praise Donald Trump, champion the war in Iran, and highlight Trump’s speech at Mount Rushmore. Although the ads disclose that they are paid for by the U.S. government, there is nothing bureaucratic about them. They are thinly veiled campaign ads — costing taxpayers $20 million with money redirected from the Department of Homeland Security.

Put simply, this is illegal. Trump cannot use public money to pay for political propaganda.

That is why several lawsuits have been filed. In one, Democrats argue the “political propaganda ads are an attempt to resuscitate his historically low approval ratings and avoid widespread Republican defeats in the 2026 midterm election.”

While Trump may not be on the ballot, the lawsuit notes, he has “nationalized the midterm election, made himself the center of a two-day ‘midterm convention,’ and repeatedly directed voters to ‘pretend that I am on the ballot.’”

The Trump administration claims these are public service announcements. It is clear they undermine free and fair elections.

I have always said that students are more vulnerable to voter suppression than almost any voters in our country. Young and new to voting, they are easier to deter.

They may believe they don’t have the proper identification. They might be confused about how to register. They might be intimidated by the logistics of voting by mail.

The Republican Party knows that students — not in the habit of voting — are easy victims. And they are happy to exploit them.

In April, New Hampshire’s Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, eliminated student ID as a form of identification. The law was challenged and the case has been making its way through the courts. A lower court upheld the ban on student ID, which will undoubtedly lead to disenfranchisement. But the court did say that election administrators could consider student IDs as part of the evidence when voters try to prove their eligibility.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration asked the 1st Circuit to overturn that part of the lower court’s ruling, so that student IDs can’t play any role in helping students vote.

This will certainly create additional confusion for students. As the Granite State young voters prepare to head to the polls, I hope they don’t get discouraged by leaders who have proven to be enemies of democracy.

The Republican National Committee is trying to subvert the election results in Georgia.

Just one day after a Georgia judge rejected the RNC’s bid to restrict mail ballot return access in Gwinnett County, the GOP filed an emergency motion asking Judge Warren Davis to block the policy for the Nov. 3 election while the appeal proceeds.

There is a reason Republicans are so eager to suppress votes in Gwinnett. As Georgia's second-largest county and a Democratic stronghold, it will have a major influence on who will win the state's high-stakes Senate and gubernatorial races.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Jon Ossoff campaign intervened to defend voting rights in Georgia, and my law firm is representing them in that fight.

I’m not just watching this case. I’m in it.