NPR sues Trump administration over executive order to cut federal
funding to public media
[May 28, 2025]
By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) — National Public Radio and three of its local stations
sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday, arguing that his executive order
cutting funding to the 246-station network violates their free speech
and relies on an authority that he does not have.
Earlier this month, Trump instructed the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting and federal agencies to cease funding for NPR and PBS,
either directly or indirectly. The president and his supporters argue
their news reporting promotes liberal bias and shouldn't be supported by
taxpayers.
Retaliation is Trump's plain purpose, the lawsuit argues. It was filed
in federal court in Washington by NPR and three Colorado entities —
Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc., chosen to show
the system's diversity in urban and rural areas.
“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
Tuesday.
Lawsuit says Trump is targeting a private nonprofit corporation
The lawsuit alleges that Trump is acting to contravene the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit corporation set up to
distribute federal funding to NPR and PBS, which is intended to insulate
the system from political interference. Congress has appropriated $535
million yearly to CPB for 2025, 2026 and 2027.
In response to the lawsuit, White House deputy press secretary Harrison
Fields said that CPB “is creating media to support a particular
political party on the taxpayers' dime,” so Trump was exercising his
authority under the law. “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.
Trump hasn’t hidden his feelings about NPR, calling it a “liberal
disinformation machine” in an April social media post.
The court fight seemed preordained, given that the heads of NPR and PBS
both reacted to Trump’s move earlier this month with statements that
they believed it was illegal. The absence of PBS from Tuesday’s filing
indicates the two systems will challenge this separately; PBS has not
yet gone to court, but is likely to soon.
“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 Tuesday.
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The headquarters for National Public Radio (NPR) is seen in
Washington, April 15, 2013. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Trump is in other legal disputes with news organizations
The president's attempts to dismantle government-run news sources
like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have also
sparked court fights.
The administration has battled with the press on several fronts. The
Federal Communications Commission is investigating ABC, CBS and NBC
News. The Associated Press also went to court after the
administration restricted access to certain events in response to
the organization's decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico as
Trump decreed.
The lawsuit says 11% of Aspen Public Radio's budget is provided by
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is 6% for the Colorado
Public Radio, a network of 19 stations, and 19% of KUTE's budget.
That station was founded in 1976 by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
NPR notes that the order attempts to prohibit individual stations in
NPR's system from using any federal money to buy NPR programming,
like “All Things Considered,” the most listened-to afternoon radio
news program in the country, its early counterpart “Morning Edition”
and cultural programming like the Tiny Desk concerts.
The order “directly interferes with editorial independence by
requiring them to seek programming elsewhere,” the lawsuit said.
NPR says it also provides infrastructure services to hundreds of
public radio stations and without it, their coverage area would
shrink. It also provides the backbone for emergency alert systems
across the country.
“Public broadcasting is an irreplaceable foundation of American
civic life,” Maher said. “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."
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