Public Broadcasting and Media Policy

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, in a 62‑page March 31, 2026 opinion, permanently enjoined two provisions of President Trump’s May 2025 executive order that directed all federal agencies to cut off funding to NPR and PBS, finding the order unlawfully singled out those organizations and constituted unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and retaliation in violation of the First Amendment. Moss wrote the government cannot use the “power of the purse” to punish disfavored speech—blocking attempts to claw back roughly $1.1 billion and bar NPR and PBS from federal programs (even as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been shuttered), halting agency grant cancellations while drawing sharp White House criticism and praise from press advocates.