Trump move to bar funding for NPR, PBS stopped by court
Trump move to bar funding for NPR, PBS stopped by court
Federal Ruling Halts Trump’s Directive Against Public Broadcasters
A federal court has intervened to prevent the Trump administration from cutting funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The decision came after US District Judge Randolph Moss declared President Donald Trump’s May 2025 executive order, which directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding these entities, legally invalid.
VOA Employees’ Return to Work Delayed
Separately, an appeals court panel has paused a ruling that required the Trump administration to recall hundreds of Voice of America (VOA) staff from unpaid leave. This suspension follows a prior decision by US District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who found the agency’s policy of placing more VOA employees on leave to be unlawful.
Legal Arguments and Financial Impact
President Trump and his allies maintained that NPR and PBS’s reporting skewed toward liberal perspectives, arguing such bias should not be funded by public dollars. In July, he also approved a measure that revoked $1.1 billion in allocated funds for public broadcasting initiatives. Despite the court’s intervention, the long-term consequences for the public media network remain uncertain, as appeals are expected.
“It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints the President does not like,” remarked Judge Moss, who was appointed by Barack Obama. The judge emphasized the First Amendment’s protection against viewpoint discrimination and retaliation.
A White House representative, Abigail Jackson, criticized Judge Moss’s ruling, calling it “a ridiculous decision by an activist judge aiming to weaken the law.” The conflicting rulings highlight ongoing legal battles over the administration’s approach to public media funding.
