National Public Radio (NPR) is taking President Trump to court, accusing him of violating the Constitution with his latest attempt to pull federal funding from public radio.
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., NPR called Trump’s executive order a “clear violation of the Constitution.” Several NPR stations in Colorado joined the suit.
The lawsuit says Trump’s order goes against Congress and breaks the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and the press. It claims the move puts the entire public radio system at risk—something millions of Americans depend on every day for news, emergency alerts, and cultural programming.
“This threatens the existence of a public radio system that millions of Americans across the country rely on for vital news and information,” the lawsuit states.
Trump signed the executive order on May 1, cutting off funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports both NPR and PBS. He accused both networks of being biased and claimed they were using “the taxpayers’ dime” to push one political viewpoint.
The White House doubled down on that claim Tuesday, saying the CPB “is creating media to support a particular political party.”
NPR and public media leaders say that’s not true—and that this is about punishing the network for reporting Trump doesn’t like. The lawsuit calls the order “textbook retaliation” and says it’s illegal “viewpoint discrimination.”
“This really is just pure viewpoint discrimination,” said NPR attorney Theodore Boutrous. He pointed to the 1967 law that created public broadcasting, which was designed to keep politics out of it. That law was supposed to “insulate” public media from “precisely this type of political coercion,” Boutrous said.
The CPB, which is a private nonprofit and not part of the government, is also suing. It was set up to stay independent from the White House. Now, it’s fighting Trump’s attempt to fire three of its board members.
The CPB hands out about $535 million every year to public radio and TV stations and producers of educational content. That funding helps keep news and programming free for everyone in the country.
Trump tried to kill this funding during his first term, but Congress blocked him every time. Now, even though Congress—controlled by Republicans—approved public broadcasting funds again this March, Trump is trying to cancel them on his own.
NPR says this is a power grab and a direct challenge to Congress. They’re fighting to keep the funding in place.
PBS, while not part of the lawsuit yet, is also weighing its legal options. A spokesperson said, “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.”
