Trump Admin Files To Oust CPB Board Members

The Trump administration Tuesday filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., against three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)—Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan, and Tom Rothman—who refused to vacate their positions after President Trump attempted to fire them on April 28, 2025. 

The U.S. Justice Department, in a complaint led by acting U.S. Attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, argued that Trump lawfully terminated these board members and sought a court order to enforce their removal, claiming they were "usurping and unlawfully holding or exercising" their roles. 

The lawsuit is part of a broader conflict between the Trump administration and the CPB, a nonprofit created by Congress in 1967 to fund public media like PBS and NPR, which distributes over $500 million annually. The administration and some Republicans argue that public media has a liberal bias and should not receive taxpayer funding.

The CPB had previously sued the Trump administration on April 29, 2025, after the initial firing attempt, asserting that the president lacks authority to remove its board members because the CPB is a private, independent corporation, not a federal agency subject to executive control. 

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which established the CPB, does not grant the president power to remove board members, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for six-year terms. 

The CPB’s lawsuit emphasized that Congress designed the organization to be insulated from government interference to ensure independent public broadcasting.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, overseeing the CPB’s earlier lawsuit, ruled on June 8, 2025, that the three board members could remain in their positions pending further litigation, though he denied the CPB’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Trump’s removal attempt, citing insufficient evidence of immediate, irreparable harm. 

Moss acknowledged the CPB’s independent status but suggested Trump might have some authority to remove board members, leaving the legal question unresolved. The Trump administration’s July lawsuit escalates the dispute, as the board members have continued to participate in CPB meetings and governance, ignoring the termination notices sent by Trent Morse, the deputy director of White House presidential personnel.

This legal battle coincides with broader efforts by the Trump administration to defund public broadcasting. Trump has pushed for Congress to rescind the CPB’s $1.1 billion in allocated funds through September 2027, a move requiring majority votes in both the House and Senate within 45 days of a formal request.