- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has sued the Trump administration after it attempted to fire the CPB's board members.
- The CPB argues that it is a private entity, not under the president's authority.
- The lawsuit asserts that Trump can't fire the board members, based on the law that established the corporation in 1967.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting sued the Trump administration Tuesday, following its attempt to fire three members of the CPB’s board.
Emails sent from the White House on Monday told three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that they were terminated, effective immediately, “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump,” per CNN. The corporation’s lawsuit is in response to those emails.
“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is not a government entity, and its board members are not government officers,” the company said in a statement, per The New York Times. “Because C.P.B. 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 CPB’s five board members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for six-year terms. One of the current board members was originally appointed by Trump during his first term and was reappointed by former President Joe Biden. The rest were appointed by Biden.
According to Reuters, the emails were sent from Trent Morse, the White House deputy director of presidential personnel, to Thomas Rothman, Laura Ross and Diane Kaplan, seeking to fire them.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, argues that under the law that created the corporation in 1967, Trump does not have the authority to fire the board members. The CPB is seeking a ruling to confirm that the termination emails have “no legal effect,” per CNN.
The lawsuit also asked the court to “issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting the White House from interfering with the company’s governance or operations,” per The New York Times.
On Tuesday afternoon, the court issued a preliminary ruling blocking the terminations of the board members, pending a hearing scheduled for May 14. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss instructed the government to file its opposition to the CPB’s request for a restraining order by May 6 and directed the board to respond by May 9, ahead of the scheduled hearing.
According to The New York Times, the organization released a statement saying the decision was “a first step to protect public media and affirm the rule of law.”
The CPB is a nonprofit organization that was created by Congress. It distributes funding for over 1,500 locally managed public radio and TV stations, including NPR and PBS, per Reuters.
It was set up as a private entity “to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control,” according to the 1967 law that created the corporation. The legislation also forbids the government from exercising “any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting.”
According to Reuters, several different media outlets have reported that the White House is planning to ask Congress to significantly reduce the funding allocated for CPB over the next two years.