He’s a bull in a china shop. In case you missed it, a U.S. federal judge has shut down an executive order from Donald Trump that aimed to cut funding to public broadcasters NPR and PBS.
Back in May, Trump signed the order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to pull federal support, arguing taxpayer money shouldn’t back what he called “biased media”.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss didn’t buy it.
In a decisive ruling, Moss said the order crossed a constitutional line, targeting media outlets over their editorial viewpoints. That, he said, violates the First Amendment.
“The government can’t use its power, including funding, to punish speech it doesn’t like,” Moss wrote, calling the move “unlawful and unenforceable.”
The ruling blocks the order, but it doesn’t restore money already pulled.
Congress has already cut more than $1 billion from the CPB, leaving public broadcasters still feeling the hit.
PBS welcomed the decision, calling the order “textbook unconstitutional” and reaffirmed its mission to educate and inform.
For NPR, the stakes remain tight. Direct federal funding has historically been small, but its network of stations depends heavily on CPB support.
PBS stations rely even more, with about 15 percent of their funding tied to federal dollars. Industry voices warn cuts like these hit rural communities hardest, where public broadcasting often fills the gaps left by commercial media.
