NPR Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Executive Order To Cut Public Media Federal Funding
National Public Radio (NPR), and three of its local stations, have sued President Donald Trump and his administration over an executive order they filed to cut funding for public media.
NPR, which is a 246-station network, has claimed that this order violates their free speech and is dependent on an authority that the president does not have.
According to reports, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington by NPR as well as three Colorado bodies – Colorado Public Radio, KUTE Inc., and Aspen Public Radio.
“By basing its directives on the substance of NPR’s programming, the executive order seeks to force NPR to adapt its journalistic standards and editorial choices to the preferences of the government if it is to continue to receive federal funding,” Katherine Maher, NPR’s CEO, said.
The lawsuit is alleging that Trump is working to contravene the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to allow for political interference. The CPB is a private nonprofit corporation that is meant to distribute federal funding to NPR and PBS. Congress has devoted $535 million annually to CPB for 2025, 2026, and 2027.
White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields stated that CPB “is creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers’ dime,” in response to the lawsuit.
“The president was elected with a mandate to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and he will continue to use his lawful authority to achieve that objective,” Fields said, according to the Associated Press.
While both NPR and PBS have reacted to Trump’s executive order, PBS is not involved in this particular lawsuit, however, they are likely to take legal action themselves.
“PBS is considering every option, including taking legal action, to allow our organization to continue to provide essential programming and services to member stations and all Americans,” PBS spokesman Jeremy Gaines said.
The lawsuit cited that 11% of Aspen Public Radio’s budget is provided by the CPB. For Colorado’s Public Radio it’s 6%, which is a network of 19 stations, and they provide 19% of KUTE’s budget.
In the lawsuit, NPR noted that the order filed is attempting to prohibit individual stations within the NPR system from using any federal money to buy programming.
“[The order] directly interferes with editorial independence by requiring them to seek programming elsewhere,” according to the lawsuit.
“Public broadcasting is an irreplaceable foundation of American civic life,” Maher stated.
“At its best, it reflects our nation back to itself in all our complexity, contradictions and commonalities and connects our communities across differences and divides.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.