NPR, Colorado Stations Sue Trump Over Executive Order

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, May 27, 2025 | 8:46am CT

National Public Radio (NPR)

NPR and three Colorado-based public radio outlets filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against President Donald Trump, challenging the constitutionality of his May 1 executive order that seeks to halt Congressionally appropriated funding to NPR and PBS. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contends the order constitutes "textbook retaliation" against the press in violation of the First Amendment. It also argues the directive usurps Congress's constitutional authority to appropriate federal funds.

"It is not always obvious when the government has acted with a retaliatory purpose in violation of the First Amendment," the complaint reads. "But this wolf comes as a wolf." The line, referencing a 1988 dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia, underscores the plaintiffs' claim that the order overtly punishes NPR and PBS for their journalism.

Named defendants include Trump, director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher described the executive order as "a clear violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment's protections for freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press."

"This is retaliatory, viewpoint-based discrimination," Maher added. "NPR will never agree to this infringement of our constitutional rights... and will not compromise our commitment to an independent free press and journalistic integrity."

The lawsuit is supported by a coalition of stations that represent the broad spectrum of public radio: statewide Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT, a station originally founded by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe now serving multiple tribal communities across the Four Corners region.

Trump's executive order directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) -- which distributes over $500 million annually in public media funding -- not to fund NPR or PBS, citing claims that the organizations do not offer "fair, accurate, or unbiased" coverage. A White House fact sheet pointed to NPR's handling of COVID-19 origin stories and coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop saga as examples of alleged bias.

However, CPB has pushed back against the directive. CPB CEO Patricia Harrison, a former Republican National Committee co-chair, said the organization is an independent nonprofit created by Congress, not an executive branch agency.

"CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President's authority," Harrison stated. "Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government."

Harrison also emphasized the founding statute's protection against political interference, which forbids any U.S. government entity from controlling CPB or its grantees.

Despite the order, CPB has not taken steps to withhold funding from NPR or PBS. CPB also continues to maintain its board members, despite Trump's attempts to remove several of them-another action already subject to separate legal action.

NPR receives about 1% of its annual budget directly from CPB, and a few additional percentage points indirectly through its member stations. Local public radio stations typically receive 8-10% of their annual funding from CPB.

Still, the legal filing notes that NPR's reach is national and vital, serving more than 43 million Americans weekly through its radio programming, digital content, and podcasts. The lawsuit asserts that the executive order threatens the very foundation of that public media system.