A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday dealt a setback to President Donald Trump's effort to cut taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS, striking down part of his executive order targeting the public broadcasters.
According to a Washington Post report, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the order violated the First Amendment, finding it was unconstitutional retaliation tied to the administration's objections to what Trump has described as left-wing bias in NPR and PBS coverage.
Trump's May 1, 2025, order, titled "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media," sought to end federal support for public broadcasting. The move followed long-standing conservative criticism that NPR and PBS have used taxpayer dollars to advance liberal viewpoints.
In his opinion, Moss, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote that the administration had improperly targeted the outlets over their editorial content.
"The message is clear," Moss wrote. "NPR and PBS need not apply for any federal benefit because the President disapproves of their 'left-wing' coverage of the news."
He added that the administration's action amounted to "viewpoint discrimination."
The provision at issue directed agency heads to identify and terminate, as far as allowed by law, any direct or indirect funding to NPR and PBS. Moss issued an injunction barring the federal government from permanently cutting off that funding under the order.
In a fact sheet released alongside the order, the White House defended the move, accusing NPR and PBS of pushing partisan content at taxpayer expense. The administration said the outlets "fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars, which is highly inappropriate and an improper use of taxpayers' money."
The White House also pointed to an NPR story on "queer animals" and a PBS documentary about a transgender teenager as examples of programming it criticized.
NPR and PBS sued, arguing that Trump's actions violated their First Amendment rights. Moss ultimately sided with them nearly a year later.
"It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to squelch," Moss wrote.
"To be sure, the President is entitled to criticize this or any other reporting, and he can express his own views as he sees fit," he continued.
"He may not, however, use his governmental power to direct federal agencies to exclude Plaintiffs from receiving federal grants or other funding in retaliation for saying things that he does not like," the judge added.
The Trump administration blasted the ruling.
"This is a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Post.
"NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress already voted to defund them. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue."
Meanwhile, NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher called the ruling a "decisive affirmation of the rights of a free and independent press," and PBS spokesman Jeremy Gaines said in a statement that the organization is "thrilled" by the decision.
The ruling does not restore funding already lost. While Moss blocked enforcement of Trump's executive order, the decision does not override Congress, which at Trump's urging eliminated $1.1 billion previously appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in a rescission package last year.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting later shut down after a board vote in January.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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