A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked the Trump administration from enforcing President Donald Trump’s order to cut federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the directive was unlawful and said it violated First Amendment protections. According to The Associated Press, Moss said the government cannot punish speech based on political viewpoint.
The ruling stops the administration from putting into effect Trump’s order directing federal agencies to end funding for NPR, based in Washington, and PBS, based in Arlington, Virginia. Moss wrote that the move targeted viewpoints the president opposed.
The judge said the administration failed to show any legal precedent supporting an action that bars a person or organization from federally funded activity because of past speech. He said the First Amendment does not allow that kind of retaliation.
NPR argued that the move violated its free speech rights and was intended to punish the outlet for the content of its journalism. The AP reported that the case also involved steps by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cut off NPR’s access to grant money approved by Congress.
Trump had publicly criticized both outlets before issuing the order. Last year, he said he would “love to” defund NPR and PBS because he believed they were biased in favor of Democrats, the report said.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting had already announced last August that it was taking steps toward shutting down after Congress defunded it. Tuesday’s ruling marked the latest legal setback for the administration’s effort to cut public broadcasting support.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Theodore Boutrous called the decision a victory for press freedom and the First Amendment. In a statement quoted by AP, he said the court made clear that the government cannot use its spending power to punish speech it does not like.
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