PBS CEO Claims Trump EO "Blatantly Unlawful"

PBS has covered President Donald Trump’s executive order, signed on Thursday, aiming to cut federal funding for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), with a focus on the order’s implications, its legality, and the broader context of public media’s role. 

PBS, through its CEO and President Paula Kerger, has strongly condemned the executive order as “blatantly unlawful.” In a statement issued on Friday, Kerger emphasized that the order threatens PBS’s ability to serve the American public with educational programming, a mission it has upheld for over 50 years. 

Paula Kerger

She argued that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which distributes federal funds to PBS and NPR, is not subject to the president’s authority, as it is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to be independent of government control. Kerger stated that PBS is “exploring all options” to oppose the order and support its member stations, indicating a readiness to pursue legal action or other measures to maintain funding.

In a PBS News report Friday, Kerger reiterated the importance of federal funding, noting that it constitutes about 15% of PBS’s revenue on average, with a higher impact on smaller and rural stations. She highlighted PBS’s role in providing educational content like Sesame Street, local news, and emergency alerts, framing the cuts as a disruption to “essential services” for millions of Americans. The report also contextualized the order as part of Trump’s broader efforts to target institutions he perceives as biased, citing his administration’s actions against the U.S. Agency for Global Media and other media outlets.

PBS’s coverage, primarily through PBS NewsHour and its online platform, has framed the executive order as both a political and legal overreach:

Legal Challenges: PBS News reported that the CPB, which distributes approximately $535 million annually to public media, is suing the Trump administration over the order and related actions, such as the attempted firing of three CPB board members on April 28, 2025. The CPB argues that these moves violate its congressional mandate to operate independently, as the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act explicitly prohibits federal interference in its operations. A hearing for the CPB’s lawsuit is scheduled for May 14, 2025.