PBS filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday, arguing that the decision to cut off funding violates the First Amendment. The lawsuit, which can be viewed here, also contends that Trump has breached the statutory framework established in 1969 to maintain the editorial independence of PBS from political interference. Trump’s executive order on May 1 labeled PBS as “corrosive” and accused its news broadcasts of being “biased and partisan.”
The lawsuit strongly refutes these claims, stating, “PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms. But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”
PBS is not alone in challenging the executive order, as NPR also filed a similar lawsuit seeking to block the directive on Tuesday. The order instructed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease funding to both entities to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The CPB, responsible for distributing government funding to local TV and radio stations that carry PBS and NPR programming, pushed back against Trump’s order by asserting its independence as an agency beyond presidential control.
In addition to the funding cuts, Trump has moved to dismiss three CPB board members—Tom Rothman, Diane Kaplan, and Laura Ross—who have taken legal action to prevent their removal.
Joining PBS in the lawsuit is Northern Minnesota Public Television, based in Bemidji, Minn. The legal action highlights various comments made by Trump and the White House criticizing PBS content, emphasizing that the defunding decision stems from disagreements over speech.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Republicans on April 1 to defund PBS and NPR, labeling them as “THE RADICAL LEFT ‘MONSTERS’ THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!”
The White House’s grievances include a 2017 panel discussion on “white privilege” and “wokeness,” a 2020 Sesame Street town hall addressing racism during the Black Lives Matter protests, and a 2021 children’s program featuring a drag queen. PBS refutes these examples as inaccurate and misrepresentative of its diverse programming.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeks an injunction to prevent the executive order from going into effect. The legal battle underscores the importance of maintaining the editorial independence of public broadcasting from political influence.
