A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from ending funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
US District Judge Randolph Moss found that President Donald Trump’s executive order, signed last May directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding NPR and PBS directly or indirectly, was unlawful. Moss wrote that the order violated the First Amendment, saying it “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type” and that the action was plainly targeted at viewpoints the president dislikes.
Trump and supporters have argued the outlets exhibit liberal bias and should not receive taxpayer support. In July, the president also signed a package that cut about $1.1 billion in funds earmarked for public broadcasting. How Moss’s ruling will affect the long-term operations of public broadcasters remains unclear; the decision is likely to be appealed, and the system has already sustained significant damage.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called the ruling “a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law.”
Separately on Tuesday, an appeals court panel stayed a federal judge’s order requiring the administration to bring hundreds of Voice of America employees back to work from paid leave. US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth had ruled that placing more VOA employees on leave was unlawful, but the appeals court’s decision delays that remedy.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru