U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s executive order to cease funding for NPR and PBS is unlawful and unenforceable. The judge says 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,” the judge wrote.
In announcing his intention last May to end funding for NPR and PBS, President Trump said the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options today and therefore government funding of news media is outdated and unnecessary.
In a White House statement at the time, Trump said "No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize."
