Corporation for Public Broadcasting sues Trump over attempted firings

By Brian Stelter

The Trump administration has sparked another fight against public media. In emails from the White House, three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) were told on Monday that they were “terminated,” effective immediately, “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump.” In response, the corporation filed a lawsuit on Tuesday.

Under the law that created the corporation in 1967, Trump does not have the authority to fire them, CBP argues. The corporation seeks a ruling that confirms the termination emails have “no legal effect,” according to its lawsuit filed in DC. The three board members who received the emails — Laura G. Ross, Thomas E. Rothman and Diane Kaplan — were appointed by then-President Joe Biden in 2022 (Ross was originally appointed by Trump in 2018 and reappointed by Biden).

A federal judge has scheduled an initial hearing for Tuesday afternoon. “Because CPB is not a federal agency subject to the President’s authority, but rather a private corporation, we have filed a lawsuit to block these firings,” the corporation said in a statement. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CPB describes itself as “the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting.” Each year, it disperses $535 million in taxpayer funds to public radio and TV stations nationwide. This includes stations with PBS and NPR — which currently face attacks from the Trump administration — as well as some lesser-known public media outlets.

The White House has said it will soon ask Congress to claw back the money already allocated for CPB over the next two years. The corporation has five board members in total.

Congress specifically set up the corporation as a private entity “to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control,” according to the 1967 law. The legislation expressly forbids the government from exercising “any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting.”

The idea was to set up a pot of money for public interest media, including instructional, educational and cultural programming that for-profit networks might not prioritize.

Congress has reauthorized funding for the corporation for decades, despite regular Republican broadsides against PBS and NPR.

Trump’s termination notices open a new front in that battle this week. The two other CPB board members — both Republican appointees who’ve been reappointed by Democratic presidents —did not appear to receive termination emails.

“The President has no power to remove or terminate CPB’s Board members,” the corporation’s lawsuit states.