PBS Chief Calls Trump’s Executive Order Defunding the Network ‘Blatantly Unlawful’

Paula Kerger, the CEO of PBS, called President Trump’s latest executive order “blatantly unlawful,” TheWrap has learned.

“The President’s blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years,” Kerger said according to a statement to press that was first obtained by the New York Times. “We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans.”

Late on Thursday night, Trump signed a sweeping executive order that will cut off federal funding for NPR and PBS, citing unspecified political “bias” as the reason for the move. The executive order accuses the companies of spreading “radical woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.'” However, the order doesn’t just stop at halting direct federal funding. It also instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the nonprofit that oversees several organizations including NPR and PBS, to find and halt indirect sources of government funding that go to these two organizations. That would mean local PBS and NPR stations would be banned from using taxpayer dollars to support them.

Both of these broadcasters receive roughly half a billion dollars in public funds through CPB. In PBS’ case, roughly 16% of its budget comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, while about 1% of NPR’s funding comes from the organization. The remainder of their funding comes from private donations.

At first glance, it may be tempting to dismiss these cuts since CPB represents so little of both organizations’ budgets. However, a lot of the money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting goes to supporting underfunded stations in news deserts. In many smaller communities, local NPR and PBS stations are the only sources of news as newspapers continue to fold. These organizations are crucial when it comes to informing the public during local elections and communicating safety protocols during natural disasters. PBS also serves a public good when it comes to children’s entertainment, providing free educational tools. That’s a vital resource when it comes to lower income households.

Some of these rural stations depend on federal funding for up to 50% of their overall budget. These cuts will likely harm already underfunded stations that are already struggling to serve their communities.

PBS and NPR have long been targets for Trump. In March, congressional Republicans held a hearing where they accused the network of using taxpayer money to “push some of the most radical left positions.” During that same hearing, PBS was accused of featuring a drag queen on a children’s show (the segment in question was actually produced by WNET, a PBS member station for New York City).

Trump’s attacks on Corporation for Public Broadcasting are noting new. Every Republican administration, save for Gerald Ford’s, has attempted to cut funding to public media since the organization was created in 1967.

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