PBS has filed a lawsuit against President Trump in response to his executive order that strips federal funding from public broadcasting. This move comes just days after NPR filed a similar lawsuit. PBS argues that Trump's actions constitute viewpoint discrimination and overreach of presidential authority, undermining its editorial independence. It emphasizes the constitutional protections against the government interfering in content decisions. Joined by Lakeland PBS, the lawsuit highlights the potential existential threat posed by the funding cuts, which amount to $325 million this year, much of which supports local stations.
PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms, lawyer Z W Julius Chen wrote in the suit, filed in US District Court in Washington, DC. But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS's programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.
Through an executive order earlier this month, Trump told the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and federal agencies to stop funding the two systems. Through the corporation alone, PBS is receiving $325m this year, most of which goes directly to individual stations.
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