Federal judge blocks Trump order to end funding for National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service

A federal judge has permanently blocked an executive order issued by Donald Trump that sought to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service , ruling that the move violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and amounted to unconstitutional retaliation against media organisations.

In a ruling delivered Tuesday in Washington, Randolph Moss , a US District Judge nominated by Barack Obama , said the executive action was unlawful and unenforceable because it targeted the broadcasters based on their editorial viewpoints.

“The First Amendment right to free speech does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type. 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.

Trump’s directive, signed in May 2025 and titled Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media , instructed federal agencies to cut off any and all funding to NPR and PBS, alleging the outlets were politically biased. The order went beyond the Corporation for Public Broadcasting , which traditionally distributes federal funding to public broadcasters, and directed all federal agencies to deny funding to the two outlets regardless of the programme or merit of their applications.

The lawsuit, filed last year by NPR and three public radio stations, alleged the administration was punishing them for their journalism and denying access to federally funded programmes over perceived political bias. Moss said the government cited no precedent where courts upheld barring an organisation from federally funded activities because of its past speech, adding the order effectively signalled NPR and PBS should be denied federal benefits because the president disapproved of what he called their “left wing” coverage.

The dispute unfolded amid major changes to the public broadcasting system. After Congress eliminated more than USD 1 billion in federal funding , the Corporation for Public Broadcasting began winding down operations.

The order had already caused financial fallout, including the loss of millions of dollars in Education Department funding for PBS children’s programming and layoffs affecting roughly one-third of the PBS Kids staff.

Despite the ruling, the broader funding battle continues because the court’s decision blocks the executive order but does not reverse Congress’ decision to eliminate federal appropriations for public broadcasting.

Reacting to the verdict, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called it “a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law” and said the administration expects to prevail on appeal.

NPR president Katherine Maher said the ruling affirmed that public media serves the public interest rather than political agendas, while PBS chief Paula Kerger called the order “textbook unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and retaliation.”