Judge declines to block Trump's Corporation for Public Broadcasting board firings
A federal judge on Sunday declined to block President Trump’s removal of three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), ruling the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood the firings were unlawful or that they would suffer irreparable harm.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., rejected a request for a preliminary injunction filed by the three board members — Elizabeth Ross, Bruce Kaplan and Ruby Rothman — who sued the Trump administration after receiving termination notices via email on April 28.
They argued the president lacked the authority to remove them from their position and noted that the corporation, which was created by Congress in 1967, was designed to be protected from political interference. It is the largest single source of funding for public news outlets, including PBS and NPR.
“The credible and urgent threats facing CPB, as a result of the Correspondence are not speculative or theoretical. To the contrary, such threats are well-grounded in the administration’s recent terminations of board members at other congressionally-created organizations,” they argued in the lawsuit.
Moss was not convinced Trump's move would bring about any immediate, irreparable harm, and he indicated Trump may indeed have the authority to remove them.
“For present purposes and on the present record, it is enough to conclude that Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that they are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim for injunctive relief or that Plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief,” the judge’s opinion reads.
The suit comes as Trump has urged Congress to defund public broadcasters and his Federal Communications Commission chair has vowed to investigate outlets like NPR and PBS over their donation models and perceived editorial bias.
Trump and his allies have long said public broadcasters are biased against conservatives and that taxpayers should not have to underwrite their operations.
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