NPR sues Trump administration over funding cuts

Public radio stations based in Colorado joined NPR in the lawsuit, including Aspen Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio. The complaint challenged President Donald Trump’s May 1 executive order which ended the federal funding of NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS.

What was the White House’s reasoning for the funding cuts? In his executive order, Trump accused NPR and PBS of failing to provide fair, accurate, and unbiased news coverage. Americans should not be required to subsidize biased partisan media, Trump said.

What does NPR have to say? Their lawsuit was filed in federal court on Tuesday. It said Trump’s order violated First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association, and overstepped boundaries set by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 concerning the exercise of governmental authority over public telecommunications. The lawsuit also accused the Trump administration of engaging in what it called viewpoint-based discrimination. Trump cited what he characterized as a left-leaning bias on the part of NPR and PBS as the reason for his order.

NPR also controls the Public Radio Satellite System, or PRSS, which can reach approximately 99% of Americans in the event of a nationwide crisis, according to the lawsuit. The PRSS is a critical infrastructure service, NPR insisted.

Why are local stations also pushing back? NPR distributes programming to local stations nationwide including NPR local member stations like Aspen Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio. Because President Trump’s executive order terminated indirect federal funding to NPR, local stations can no longer use federal dollars to acquire NPR programming. Though local stations may continue to receive federal funding, they would need to use funds from other sources to acquire programming from NPR.

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