NPR And Public Radio Stations Sue Trump Over Funding Cut Order.
National Public Radio (NPR), alongside other public radio organisations including Colorado Public Radio and Aspen Public Radio, has launched legal action against U.S. President Donald Trump, challenging an executive order that seeks to halt federal funding for NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in a federal court in Washington, argues that the order breaches the U.S. Constitution and violates First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.
The legal filing asserts that President Trump lacks the authority to implement such a measure, stating, “The president has no authority under the Constitution to take such actions. On the contrary, the power of the purse is reserved to Congress.” The White House has yet to issue a formal response to the lawsuit.
Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides financial support to NPR and PBS, to cease all funding to the two broadcasters. The CPB allocates over $500 million annually to public radio and television stations across the United States, supporting their operations and programme production.
While only approximately 2% of NPR’s budget comes directly from federal grants, the majority of CPB funding is distributed to local public radio and television stations nationwide, enabling them to sustain operations and create content. For PBS, federal grants account for roughly 15% of its budget. These funds are vital for delivering news, educational programming, and emergency alerts, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
In his executive order, President Trump claimed that NPR and PBS exhibit “bias” in their reporting, arguing that taxpayer money should support only “fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage.” The leadership of both organisations swiftly condemned the order. NPR’s chief executive, Katherine Maher, and PBS’s chief executive, Paula Kerger, issued statements denouncing the move as an attack on independent journalism and public access to information.
This legal challenge marks the latest in a series of efforts by Republican lawmakers to undermine public media in the U.S. Last month, the White House threatened to rescind funding for public radio and television stations and attempted to dismiss several members of the CPB’s board, prompting a separate lawsuit to block the removals. Additionally, legislation aimed at defunding NPR and PBS is currently under consideration in Congress.
In its lawsuit, NPR has urged the court to declare Trump’s executive order unconstitutional and to prevent its enforcement. The organisation also seeks a ruling to ensure that the National Endowment for the Arts cannot withhold funding from public media outlets based on the executive order.
Katherine Maher, NPR’s chief executive, emphasised the critical role of public media, stating, “Public media in the United States is an irreplaceable foundation of American civic life.” The outcome of the lawsuit could have significant implications for the future of public broadcasting and its ability to serve millions of Americans with trusted news and educational content.
