By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes funding to PBS and NPR stations, sued the White House late Monday after President Donald Trump sought to fire three of its five board members.
The nonprofit corporation, which was created by Congress in 1967 and provides funding for more than 1,500 locally managed public radio and TV stations, asked a U.S. district court in Washington to block the firings and sought a temporary restraining order.
“Because the president has no authority over the CPB, he has no authority to terminate its board members as he has purported to do here,” the lawsuit says.
The White House has forced out the heads of other government-created corporations, including U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak. Others including U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resigned under heavy White House pressure.
Several media outlets have reported the White House plans to ask Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in funding for PBS and NPR stations.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss scheduled a 4 p.m. ET hearing Tuesday on the board’s request for a temporary restraining order.
The lawsuit said the White House Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse sent emails to Thomas Rothman, Laura Ross, and Diane Kaplan seeking to fire them.
The board said the effort is against the law and against the intent of Congress when it created the board. The suit said Congress sought to ensure the board is free of government control and the law “also prohibits any political litmus test from applying to its employees.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Board members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Last month, CPB sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency to lift a freeze on funds meant to support the country’s emergency alert system after it said FEMA put $38.3 million previously authorized for the alert service’s Next Generation Warning System on hold without explanation.
(Reporting by David Shepardson)
