Judge Finds Cutting Taxpayer Funding From NPR and PBS Violates First Amendment

A judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from ending taxpayer funding of National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss of the District of Columbia determined President Donald Trump’s executive order stopping funding was not lawful because the First Amendment “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type.”

“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,” wrote Moss, an appointee of President Barack Obama.

Republicans in Congress and conservative commentators have long criticized the taxpayer-backed media outlets for liberal bias.

Trump’s May 2025 executive order, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a government agency that is the primary funder of NPR and PBS, to ”cease federal funding” of the organizations.

Trump also directed the corporation to ensure that local public radio and television stations did not use federal funds to pay for NPR or PBS programming, a form of indirect federal funding. 

“Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today, the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options,” the executive order stated.

“Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.”

NPR sued, claiming the order was an attack on free speech and free press rights.

The administration will likely appeal Moss’ ruling.

Moss has ruled against Trump in the past. Earlier this month, he blocked a Trump administration effort to expedite the immigration appeals process. Last year, he struck down Trump’s declaration of an “invasion” at the southern border.

In March 2025, NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger answered questions on Capitol Hill to justify their taxpayer funding. During the hearing, when questioned, Maher reversed her previous stance on America being “addicted” to white supremacy.

At the hearing, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., claimed that NPR was inaccurate in its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story and the origins of COVID-19, as well as the discredited conspiracy theory about Trump’s collusion with the Russian government.  

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