PBS, NPR blast 'blatantly unlawful' Trump executive order halting public funding, vow challenges
NPR statement calls Trump order an 'affront to the First Amendment'
By David Rutz Fox News
Published May 2, 2025 11:41am EDT
NPR and PBS quickly fired back at President Donald Trump over his executive order attempting to halt federal funding for the outlets on Friday, calling it "blatantly unlawful."
"The President’s blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years. We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans," PBS President Paula Kerger wrote.
NPR released a 618-word statement vowing an immediate challenge as well, saying, "We will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news, information and life-saving services to the American public. We will challenge this Executive Order using all means available."
"This is not about balancing the federal budget," NPR said. "The appropriation for public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS, represents less than 0.0001% of the federal budget. The President's order is an affront to the First Amendment rights of NPR and locally owned and operated stations throughout America to produce and air programming that meets the needs of their communities."
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