NPR challenges Trump’s executive order halting public media funding, citing First Amendment violations.

Legal Showdown Over Federal Support for Public Media

NPR and three Colorado public radio stations filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration, contesting an executive order that seeks to eliminate federal funding for public media. The order, signed earlier this month by President Donald Trump, directs agencies such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to halt all federal support for NPR and other noncommercial outlets.

NPR CEO Katherine Maher issued a detailed statement condemning the directive. “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,” she stated. Maher emphasized that the lawsuit was filed to uphold the rights of NPR and its 246 member stations serving communities across all 50 states and territories.

The plaintiffs in the case include Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT, who joined NPR in calling the executive action “unlawful in multiple ways.” The complaint names President Trump, White House budget director Russel Vought, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and National Endowment for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson as defendants.

Maher argues that the order undermines Congress’s long-standing bipartisan intent expressed in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which was designed to ensure free and independent access to educational and civic-minded programming. She said the order “threatens the existence of the public broadcasting system, upon which tens of millions of Americans rely.”

“The Act created a national framework for local newsrooms, children’s educational content, and cultural programming,” Maher added. “This infrastructure now reaches nearly 99% of the U.S. population.”

Maher asserted that President Trump’s executive order was motivated by dissatisfaction with NPR’s editorial stance. “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, calling it a retaliatory move against constitutionally protected speech.

She further noted that the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the government may not penalize speech it disagrees with, nor determine what is considered biased or fair coverage. NPR contends the order amounts to viewpoint discrimination, a direct affront to the First Amendment.

“NPR will never agree to this infringement of our constitutional rights, or the constitutional rights of our Member stations,” Maher stated. “We will not compromise our commitment to an independent free press and journalistic integrity.”

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the executive order unconstitutional and to award reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees, along with any other relief the court deems appropriate.

Maher concluded by reaffirming NPR’s commitment to nonpartisan journalism, stating that the organization maintains “multiple, rigorous safeguards” to ensure editorial integrity. “We stand for constitutional rights, a free press, and an informed public, and we file today on their behalf,” she said.