Trump Targets Public Media in New Executive Order

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2025 – President Donald Trump, continuing his battle with the entities that cover his administration, has directed the federal government to stop funding two national public media outlets.

On Thursday, Trump issued an Executive Order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop providing financial assistance to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

The two broadcasters receive federal funding through the CPB, a private non-profit corporation tasked by Congress with disbursing about $535 million each year in federal funding to more than 1,500 public radio and television stations across the nation. 

“The CPB’s governing statute reflects principles of impartiality: the CPB may not 'contribute to or otherwise support any political party,’” Trump wrote in the order. “The CPB fails to abide by these principles to the extent it subsidizes NPR and PBS. Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter. What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”

Trump’s Order directed CPB to stop funding NPR and PBS to the maximum extent of the law and to decline to provide funding in the future. 

On Monday, Trump fired three members of CPB’s five-person board of directors. They filed a lawsuit against Trump on Tuesday, claiming they were not controlled by the White House. Trump terminated Laura Ross, Thomas Rothman and Diane Kaplan. President Biden appointed all three in 2022, though Ross also served under President Trump during his first term.

The suit argued that the president did not have the authority to remove board members from the CPB and that CPB staff do not “serve at the pleasure of the President,” a clause commonly found in federal agencies.