PBS has initiated legal action against the Trump administration, contesting an executive order issued on May 1 that targets public broadcasting.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court in Washington, claims that the administration unlawfully interferes with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s operations and breaches multiple First Amendment protections—including viewpoint discrimination, retaliatory actions against the network, and infringements on PBS’s press freedoms. The complaint also accuses the administration of violating the Administrative Procedure Act.
The case is brought forth by PBS along with Lakeland PBS, a member station in Northern Minnesota. It follows similar legal maneuvers from NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) aimed at blocking Trump’s efforts to eliminate federal support for public radio and television, which has been in place since the Public Broadcasting Act was enacted in 1967.
“The EO makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is cutting off the flow of funds to PBS because of the content of PBS programming and out of a desire to alter the content of speech,” the lawsuit states. “That is blatant viewpoint discrimination and an infringement of PBS and PBS Member Stations’ private editorial discretion.”
On May 1, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to “cease direct funding to NPR and PBS” as he flew to Florida aboard Air Force One.
The executive order halts federal funding to NPR and PBS to the greatest extent permitted by law, as outlined in a White House fact sheet. It also restricts indirect funding by forbidding local public radio and television stations, as well as other recipients of CPB funds, from using taxpayer dollars to support these organizations. Additionally, it directs the Federal Communications Commission and relevant agencies to investigate claims of unlawful discrimination by NPR and PBS.
The White House claims the two networks “have fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars.” Should the order be implemented, PBS warns that it “would have profound impacts on the ability of PBS and PBS Member Stations to provide a rich tapestry of programming to all Americans.”
In the executive order, Trump alleged that NPR and PBS have not delivered “fair, accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan news.” Both networks strongly refute this assertion.