NPR is asking for Trump’s executive order to be deemed unlawful and unconstitutional, along with reasonable costs, attorney’s fees and “any other relief that the Court deems just and proper.”
In a move to protect public media, NPR, alongside Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against the Trump administration. The legal action targets an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month, which directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR” and other public media outlets like PBS. The lawsuit, naming White House budget director Russel Vought, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Endowment for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson, and President Trump as defendants, calls the order “unlawful in multiple ways.”
NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher, has taken a firm stand, vowing to fight the order “by all means available.” In a detailed statement, she declared, “The Executive Order is a clear violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press. It is an affront to the rights of NPR and NPR’s 246 Member stations, which are locally owned, nonprofit, noncommercial media organizations serving all 50 states and territories. Today, we challenge its constitutionality in the nation’s independent courts.”
The lawsuit argues that the executive order kindizes the very foundation of public broadcasting, which Maher emphasized was created to serve the American public and strengthen democratic values. “Public media was established to inform the American public and uphold American democratic values,” she said.
“The President’s Executive Order is directly counter to Congress’s long standing intent, as expressed in the Public Broadcasting Act, to foster vibrant institutions that achieve that mission, serving all Americans independent of political influence.”
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, Maher noted, was designed to ensure “quality, diversity, creativity, excellence, and innovation” in programming.
This vision has built a public radio system that reaches nearly 99% of the U.S. population, delivering local news, educational children’s shows, cultural programming, and storytelling that connects communities.
“The Act, which provides for the creation of programming of ‘quality, diversity, creativity, excellence, and innovation,’ is a testament to Congress’s foresight,” Maher stated. “It created the infrastructure for a public radio system that reaches nearly 99% of the U.S. population over the airwaves.”
The lawsuit contends that Trump’s order is a direct response to his dissatisfaction with NPR’s editorial choices. Maher pointed out that the president “has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of editorial decisions reflected in programming offered by NPR and PBS” and has labeled NPR’s content as “left-wing propaganda.” The executive order claims NPR’s coverage is not “fair, accurate, or unbiased,” which Maher argues is a clear attempt to punish NPR for its reporting. “His Executive Order states that our coverage is not ‘fair, accurate, or unbiased,’ building on prior statements making clear the President’s disapproval of NPR’s news coverage and editorial choices. The intent could not be more clear — the Executive Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes,” she said.
This, Maher asserted, amounts to “retaliatory, viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.” She cited decades of Supreme Court rulings that prohibit the government from deciding what constitutes “biased” content.
“This is retaliatory, viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has ruled numerous times over the past 80 years that the government does not have the right to determine what counts as ‘biased,’” she said. NPR, she added, will not bow to pressure to alter its journalistic standards to align with government preferences.
The stakes, according to Maher, are high. The executive order “threatens the existence of the public broadcasting system, upon which tens of millions of Americans rely” for news, information, and emergency alerts. According to Maher, NPR’s commitment to journalistic integrity and independence remains unwavering.
“NPR will never agree to this infringement of our constitutional rights, or the constitutional rights of our Member stations, and NPR will not compromise our commitment to an independent free press and journalistic integrity,” Maher declared.
NPR maintains that it operates as “a non-partisan news organization that adheres to and upholds the highest standards of public service in journalism” with rigorous safeguards to ensure reporting integrity, according to Maher.
The lawsuit seeks to have Trump’s executive order declared unlawful and unconstitutional, while also requesting reasonable costs, attorney’s fees, and “any other relief that the Court deems just and proper.”
“We stand for constitutional rights, a free press, and an informed public, and we file today on their behalf,” Maher stated.
The Fairview Gazette will keep you updated on this lawsuit between Trump and NPR.
