By ALI SWENSON and SEUNG MIN KIM<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A day after President Donald Trump said he would start paying for controversial taxpayer-funded ads<\/a> with a campaign account, there\u2019s no sign he plans to refund the millions of federal dollars already spent on them.<\/p>\n Nearly $12 million worth of ads have already aired, according to AdImpact, as part of the $20 million the Homeland Security Department tapped for the contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Trump\u2019s plan to pay for the ads with MAGA Inc. doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s any reimbursement coming, said a White House official who was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration for not repaying the money and said he believes the president\u2019s plan for covering future costs represents illegal coordination with his super PAC.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump must return this money to the American people and there must be a full investigation into this gross waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars,\u201d Schumer told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n The four ads, which began airing in late September, glorify Trump and echo his political messaging going into the midterms. One features a clip of Trump talking about the threat of communism and another is a replay of an ad<\/a> from his last presidential campaign.<\/p>\n Republicans and Democrats alike have said the ads aren\u2019t an appropriate use of U.S. government money. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said they shouldn\u2019t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n Legal experts said the ads might even violate federal statutes, including a law against congressionally appropriated money being used for \u201cpublicity or propaganda\u201d and another limiting the partisan political activities of government employees.<\/p>\n The White House has defended the ads as public service announcements similar to what past administrations have done to promote policies. Trump on Monday posted on his Truth Social platform calling the ads \u201cpositive promotion for our Great U.S.A.\u201d while also promising to pay for them with \u201cmoney I raised for MAGA Inc.\u201d<\/p>\n