The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is suing the White House over an attempt to remove three members of its board as part of President Trump’s promise to turn up the heat on outlets like NPR and PBS.
In a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the CPB alleges three members of its board of directors were notified by the White House on April 28 they were being terminated at Trump’s direction.
“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,” the suit reads.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
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 editorial bend.
Trump and his allies have long attacked public broadcasters, alleging much of their news content is biased against conservatives and arguing taxpayers should not have to underwrite media coverage that is not supportive of his administration.
On Capitol Hill, a GOP-backed push for cuts to public broadcasting is picking up momentum in Congress though some Republicans have voiced concerns over what those cuts could mean for programs and constituents back home.
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