By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -A federal judge said that three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting can keep their seats, even as he denied the nonprofit a preliminary injunction to block U.S. President Donald Trump from removing them.
In a decision on Sunday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C. said the nonprofit recently used indirect authority it obtained from Congress to protect its independence, by changing its bylaws to make it harder to remove directors at will, including by Trump.
“The President is not free to remove directors and then unilaterally to appoint their replacements, thereby using his power to remove as an effective tool for altering board policy,” Moss wrote. “Rather, the President’s appointment authority is tempered by the requirement that he proceed only with the advice and consent of the Senate.”
Moss nonetheless said the CPB was unlikely to prevail on the merits, and could not show irreparable harm because it could still function and “in all likelihood” has blocked Trump from exercising unilateral authority to remove board members.
Created by Congress in 1967, the CPB provides financial support for the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and more than 1,500 locally managed public radio and TV stations.
It sued after Trump fired three of its five directors — Diane Kaplan, Laura Ross and Thomas Rothman – ostensibly without providing a reason. PBS and NPR are also suing to block the Trump administration from canceling their federal funding.
“We are very pleased that the court recognized CPB is an independent, non-profit corporation, free from governmental control or influence,” CPB President Patricia Harrison said in a statement.
Harrison said the nonprofit looks forward to continuing its work “to ensure accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan public media is available for all Americans.”
CPB received $535 million of federal funding for its current fiscal year.
The White House and many Republicans have argued that the government should not provide funding to support programming that they consider too liberal.
A White House spokesperson on Monday said CPB is “creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers’ dime. Therefore, the President is exercising his lawful authority to limit funding to NPR and PBS.”
The case is Corporation for Public Broadcasting et al v Trump et al, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, No. 25-01305.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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