A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order to end funding for PBS and NPR public media violates the First Amendment.
In a decision issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss of the District Court for D.C. stated that Trump’s executive order to halt funding for NPR and PBS is both unlawful and unenforceable. He emphasized that the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech does not allow for viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this nature.
Moss further commented, “It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to squelch.”
The judge noted that Trump’s order specifically targets PBS and NPR, barring them from all federally funded programs based on their speech. He added that while there may be lawful reasons for the government to withhold a valuable governmental benefit from someone, punishing disfavored private speech is not one of them.
Moss also highlighted that the order revoked federal funding for public media without considering whether the funds were used for essential services, such as nationwide interconnection systems, journalist safety in war zones, emergency broadcasts, or educational programming.
A copy of the ruling is available at this link. Moss was nominated to the bench by President Obama.
In response, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Variety, “This is a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law. NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress already voted to defund them. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
The judge’s ruling includes an injunction preventing the Trump administration and federal agencies from withholding funding from PBS and NPR. However, the impact on American public media has already been significant.
NPR and PBS filed a lawsuit against Trump after he issued the executive order on May 1, 2025, claiming that the public-media organizations were engaged in “biased and partisan news coverage.” The order directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop direct funding to NPR and PBS to the fullest extent allowed by law.
In July 2025, Congress approved Trump’s rescission package, cutting $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting for the next two years. Following this, Trump celebrated on Truth Social, noting that funding for “ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED,” had been cut.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was shut down in January 2026 after 58 years due to the funding cuts.
In response to Tuesday’s ruling, PBS declared, “We’re thrilled with today’s decision declaring the executive order unconstitutional. As we argued, and Judge Moss ruled, the executive order is textbook unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and retaliation, in violation of longstanding First Amendment principles. At PBS, we will continue our mission to educate and inspire all Americans.”
Katherine Maher, president and CEO of NPR, said, “Today’s ruling is a decisive affirmation of the rights of a free and independent press — and a win for NPR, our network of stations, and our tens of millions of listeners nationwide. The court made clear that the government cannot use funding as a lever to influence or penalize the press. Public media exists to serve the public interest — that of Americans — not that of any political agenda or elected official.”
Maher added that NPR and its member stations “will continue delivering independent, fact-based, high-quality reporting to communities across the United States, regardless of the administration of the day.”
NPR also shared a statement from their attorney, Theodore Boutrous of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who remarked, “Today’s ruling is a significant victory for the First Amendment and for freedom of the press. The district court’s decision bars the government from enforcing its unconstitutional Executive Order targeting NPR and PBS because the President dislikes their news reporting and other programming. The First Amendment draws a line that the government may not cross.”
