PBS suing Trump administration over defunding, three days after NPR filed similar case

By DAVID BAUDER PBS filed suit Friday against President Donald Trump and other administration administrators to block his order stripping federal funding from the -station masses television system three days after NPR did the same for its radio structure Related Articles Trump says China violated agreement on business talks and he ll stop being nice Trump s list of sanctuary jurisdictions includes selected that backing his immigration policies Trump gives Elon Musk an Oval Office sendoff crediting him with colossal change Latinas hold more state legislature seats than ever before Nvidia faces bipartisan concern over Chinese facility statement In its lawsuit PBS relies on similar arguments saying Trump was overstepping his authority and engaging in viewpoint discrimination because of his claim that PBS news coverage is biased against conservatives PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest accomplishable terms lawyer Z W Julius Chen wrote in the suit filed in U S District Court in Washington But regardless of any framework disagreements over the role of populace television our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS s services including by attempting to defund PBS It was the latest of a multitude of legal actions taken against the administration for its moves including several by media organizations impacted by Trump s orders Northern Minnesota PBS station joins in the lawsuit PBS was joined as a plaintiff by one of its stations Lakeland PBS which serves rural areas in northern and central Minnesota Trump s order is an existential threat to the station the lawsuit noted A PBS spokesman disclosed that after careful deliberation PBS reached the conclusion that it was necessary to take legal action to safeguard community television s editorial independence and to protect the autonomy of PBS member stations Through an executive order earlier this month Trump notified the Corporation for Population Broadcasting and federal agencies to stop funding the two systems Through the corporation alone PBS is receiving million this year the bulk of which goes directly to individual stations The White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields announced the Corporation for Residents Broadcasting is creating media to advocacy a particular political party on the taxpayers dime Therefore the President is exercising his lawful authority to limit funding to NPR and PBS Fields stated The President was elected with a mandate to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars and he will continue to use his lawful authority to achieve that objective PBS which makes much of the programs used by the stations revealed it gets of its revenue directly from the feds Sixty-one percent of PBS budget is funded through individual station dues and the stations raise the bulk of that money through the governing body Interrupting a rich tapestry of offerings Trump s order would have profound impacts on the ability of PBS and PBS member stations to provide a rich tapestry of activities to all Americans Chen wrote PBS revealed the U S Department of Teaching has canceled a million grant to the system for educational initiatives used to make children s shows like Sesame Street Clifford the Big Red Dog and Reading Rainbow For Minnesota residents the order threatens the Lakeland Learns learning activity and Lakeland News described in the lawsuit as the only television effort in the region providing local news weather and sports Besides Trump the lawsuit names other administration leaders as defendants including Instruction Secretary Linda McMahon Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Assurance Secretary Kristi Noem PBS says its instrument is used as a backup for the nationwide wireless emergency alert system The administration has fought with several media organizations Government-run news services like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty are struggling for their lives The Associated Press has battled with the White House over press access and the Federal Communications Commission is examining television news divisions David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP Follow him at http x com dbauder and https bsky app profile dbauder bsky social