Overview

• On May 30, PBS and Northern Minnesota’s Lakeland PBS filed suit in Washington, D.C., seeking to block the White House order halting their federal grants.
• NPR brought a similar lawsuit earlier in the week and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has challenged the administration’s attempt to fire three of its board members.
• The complaints contend the executive order amounts to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and that the president lacks authority to redirect congressionally appropriated funds.
• PBS and NPR receive about 16–22 percent of their budgets from CPB grants, raising concerns that local stations could lose critical educational and community programming.
• Rep. Kat Cammack introduced the Defund NPR Act to codify the funding cuts into law, reflecting GOP support for ending public media subsidies.