By Alyssa Aquino

Law360 (November 18, 2020, 8:36 PM EST) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pulled the plug on a $15 million celebrity-filled ad campaign that was tied to the Trump administration's contentious $250 million plan to release public communications related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislation Sarah Arbes informed a House oversight panel that the department canceled the ad campaign after a review of the contract, which was held by consultancy firm Atlas Research LLC.

The department will instead take a "new approach" and pivot toward a "science-based public education campaign with rigorous evaluation and regular impact reporting to inform decision making," Arbes wrote in a letter dated Nov. 13.

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., released the letter on Wednesday in a statement panning the original plans.

"Our investigation revealed that, rather than taking the steps needed to control the coronavirus crisis, the Trump Administration attempted to spend precious taxpayer dollars and recruit celebrities in a thinly-veiled propaganda campaign to try to help President Trump politically," they said.

Though HHS is canceling the Atlas Research contract, the department is moving forward with Fors Marsh's planned "science-based" media campaign, Arbes said.

Atlas Research's communications contract was intended to support a $250 million, two-year public information campaign steered by Fors Marsh Group. Both deals were awarded in August, according to Arbes.

But the Fors Marsh award — which HHS said was meant to "defeat despair and inspire hope," according to documents obtained by Politico — spurred Democratic lawmakers to open an investigation in August, later widening that probe to include the Atlas Research agreement.

On Oct. 7, House Democrats introduced a bill that would block HHS from continuing the larger campaign, calling the pending media blitz "propaganda" intended to promote a rosier outlook on the pandemic and bolster President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar concurrently opened an internal audit of the campaign, telling Congress on Oct. 2 that the probe would determine whether the effort serves "important public health purposes."

On Oct. 28, the lawmakers publicly released a series of documents obtained from Atlas Research that showed HHS was planning on using the vehicle to advance "inappropriate partisan political messaging," the lawmakers said.

According to those documents, celebrities were vetted for the ad campaign based on their views on gay rights and same-sex marriage, and whether they had publicly criticized Trump. By October, the celebrities that agreed to participate pulled out.

Trump administration officials had additionally encouraged Atlas Research to subcontract with DD&T Group, a company run by a business partner of HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo, the lawmakers said.

Atlas Research noted that it has partnered with federal health agencies across three presidential administrations "without regard to politics or party," in a Wednesday statement to Law360.

"It is unfortunate that the contract was canceled, as much of the work we were focused on would have been beneficial as the country continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic," the firm said.

A Fors Marsh spokesperson told Law360 on Wednesday that it was proud to work on HHS' public health education campaign.

"Our team is working quickly to conduct important research and develop a comprehensive campaign to reach all Americans with an emphasis on communities most affected by COVID-19," the spokesperson said. 

HHS didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

--Additional reporting by Daniel Wilson and Kevin Stawicki. Editing by Steven Edelstone.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.