Washington– NPR will receive approximately $36 million in a grant to operate the nation’s public radio interconnection system under the terms of the Court settlement With the federal government’s agent for funding public broadcasting stations.
The settlement, announced late Monday, partially resolves a legal dispute in which NPR accused… Public Broadcasting Corporation Of yielding to pressure from President Donald Trump to cut its funding.
On March 25, Trump said in a press conference that he “would love” to defund NPR and PBS because he believes they are biased toward Democrats.
NPR accused CPB of violating its First Amendment free speech rights when it moved to block its access to grant money allocated by Congress. NPR also claims that Trump, a Republican, wants to punish it for the content of its journalism.
On April 2, CPB’s board of directors tentatively approved a three-year extension of a nearly $36 million grant to NPR to operate the satellite “interconnect” system for public radio. NPR has been operating and managing the Public Radio Satellite System since 1985.
But company officials reversed course and announced that the federal money would go to an entity called Public Media Infrastructure. NPR claimed CPB was under increasing pressure from the Trump administration when the agency redirected funds to PMI, a media coalition that did not exist and was not legally authorized to receive the money.
CPB lawyers denied that the agency retaliated against NPR to appease Trump. They had He argued that NPR’s claims It has no factual or legal basis.
On May 1, Trump issued an executive order calling on federal agencies to stop funding NPR and PBS. The settlement does not end a lawsuit in which NPR seeks to block any implementation or enforcement of Trump’s executive order. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss is scheduled to preside over another hearing in the case on December 4.
The settlement says NPR and CPB agree that the executive order is unconstitutional and that CPB will not enforce it unless ordered to do so by a court.
Meanwhile, NPR agreed to drop its request for a court order preventing CPB from disbursing funds to PMI under a separate grant agreement.
Catherine Maher, NPR’s president and CEO, said the settlement is “a victory for editorial independence and a step toward upholding NPR’s First Amendment rights and the public media system.”
CPB is pleased that the lawsuit is over “and that our investment in the future through PMI represents an exciting new era for public media,” said Patricia Harrison, the company’s CEO.
On August 1, CPB announced that it would take steps toward closing itself after Congress halted its funding.