In its lawsuit, NPR argued that the Trump order violates the principle of separation of powers contained in the US Constitution because it is Congress, not the White House, which controls the purse strings of federal funds.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget has already been approved by Congress through into 2027, which raises questions about the scope of Trump’s order.
NPR said the order also violates the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression.
“The intent could not be more clear – the Executive Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes,” NPR chief executive Katherine Maher said in a statement.
“We stand for constitutional rights, a free press, and an informed public, and we file today on their behalf,” Maher added.
She said 43 million people in America listen to NPR programmes each week. PBS estimates 36 million watch its television programmes on a local broadcaster every month.
The Trump Administration is also moving to slash government spending drastically, firing tens of thousands of civil servants across many departments, often with little to no warning.
In the news media sector this has meant the elimination of government-funded news outlets projecting outside the US such as Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The Defence Department has also expelled several major national news outlets from their dedicated office spaces to make way for smaller, largely conservative sites.
– Agence France-Presse
