Trump claims NPR is too liberal. NPR fights federal cuts with a lawsuit.
| New York
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, Mr. 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鈥檛 be supported by taxpayers.
Retaliation is Mr. Trump鈥檚 plain purpose, the lawsuit argues. It was filed in federal court in Washington by NPR and three Colorado entities 鈥� Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KUTE, Inc., chosen to show the system鈥檚 diversity in urban and rural areas.
鈥淏y basing its directives on the substance of NPR鈥檚 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,鈥� Katherine Maher, NPR鈥檚 CEO, said Tuesday.
Lawsuit says Trump is targeting a private nonprofit corporation
The lawsuit alleges that Mr. 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 鈥渋s creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers鈥� dime,鈥� so Mr. Trump was exercising his authority under the law. 鈥淭he 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,鈥� Mr. Fields said.
Mr. Trump hasn鈥檛 hidden his feelings about NPR, calling it a 鈥渓iberal disinformation machine鈥� in an April social media post.
The court fight seemed preordained, given that the heads of NPR and PBS both reacted to Mr. Trump鈥檚 move earlier this month with statements that they believed it was illegal. The absence of PBS from Tuesday鈥檚 filing indicates the two systems will challenge this separately; PBS has not yet gone to court, but is likely to soon.
鈥淧BS 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,鈥� PBS spokesman Jeremy Gaines said Tuesday.
Trump is in other legal disputes with news organizations
The president鈥檚 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鈥檚 decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico as Mr. Trump decreed.
The lawsuit says 11% of Aspen Public Radio鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 system from using any federal money to buy NPR programming, like 鈥淎ll Things Considered,鈥� the most listened-to afternoon radio news program in the country, its early counterpart 鈥淢orning Edition鈥� and cultural programming like the Tiny Desk concerts.
The order 鈥渄irectly interferes with editorial independence by requiring them to seek programming elsewhere,鈥� 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.
鈥淧ublic broadcasting is an irreplaceable foundation of American civic life,鈥� Ms. Maher said. 鈥淎t its best, it reflects our nation back to itself in all our complexity, contradictions and commonalities and connects our communities across differences and divides.鈥�
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
