A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from cutting funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
US District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order, signed last May, was unlawful.
Trump signs order to stop funding to NPR, PBS in 2025
Trump signed an executive order last May directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding NPR and PBS, directly or indirectly.
Trump and his supporters argue that his news reporting promotes liberal bias and should not be supported by taxpayers.
The President also signed a package in July that canceled nearly $1.1 billion of funding earmarked for public broadcasting.
So it is still unclear how Moss’s decision will affect the operations of media outlets as the decision is likely to be appealed and the public-broadcasting system will suffer huge losses.
Trump’s order violates First Amendment, judge rules
Moss said the 2025 executive order is contrary to the First Amendment, adding that “this type of viewpoint discrimination and retaliation is not tolerated.”
Moss, nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, wrote, “It is difficult to imagine clearer evidence than this that a government action is targeted at viewpoints the President does not like and wants to silence.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Moss’s decision was “a ridiculous decision by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law.”
Appeals court blocks order for Voice of America employees to return to work
In a separate ruling Tuesday, an appeals court panel suspended a federal judge’s order for the Trump administration to bring hundreds of Voice of America employees back to work from paid leave.
U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth had previously ruled that the administration’s action to furlough more VOA employees was unlawful.
But the appeals court’s decision delays implementation of that decision.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru