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Gizmodo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Trump Sues to Fire Big Bird's Boss
Back in April, Donald Trump fired three Democratic members of the board at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a move similar to his efforts to oust Democrats from the Federal Trade Commission and the Kennedy Center, among others. The board members—Laura Ross, Thomas Rothman, and Diane Kaplan— simply never left. Now, the Trump administration is suing to remove them from their seats. Trump gave notice of the attempted firings on April 28, which led to the CPB and its would-be unemployed board members suing the administration. In the eyes of the organization, the CPB is not a federal agency in the way the FTC or FCC is. Instead, it is a private corporation and, it argued, its board members 'cannot be affected, controlled, or disturbed by the actions of the government.' Additionally, the CPB added rules to its bylaws that prevent its board members from being removed and ousting any Trump-appointed member whom they do not want. Unfortunately, it seems the CPB adopted that rule after Trump issued the firing notices. And herein lies the complications around this case. A judge rejected the CPB's request for an injunction to prevent the firings, but said the organization has legal grounds for rejecting the firings based on corporate law. The CPB took that as a win and said the three fired board members would stay in their seats. Shockingly, the Trump administration has a different view. In its lawsuit, the Department of Justice argues that the three board members 'have been usurping and purporting to exercise unlawfully the office of board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting' and accuses them of continuing to operate in office 'despite their removal and subsequent failure to obtain legal relief protecting their old positions.' They are seeking the removal of the board members, as well as trying to claw back salary that they've taken during this purgatory period where they live in limbo of being fired and not fired. Notably, the DOJ points to a recent Supreme Court ruling as part of its argument that found the President has the power to remove agency heads without cause. The controversial ruling, which was issued in an unsigned order from the court, stemmed from Trump's removal of the heads of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merits Systems Protection Board. Both argued that they could not be fired without good cause under federal law. And that was the case…until now. The suit may be the first time the Supreme Court's ruling is tested. For now, Big Bird's bosses remain in place—though if Congressional Republicans have their way, they won't have much to oversee once NPR and PBS get defunded.
Reuters
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Corporation for Public Broadcasting can keep board members despite judge's ruling
June 9 (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.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge declines to block Trump's Corporation for Public Broadcasting board firings
Correction: A previous version of this article gave incorrect names of the fired CPB board members. They are Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan and Thomas Rothman. A federal judge on Sunday declined to block President Trump's removal of three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), ruling the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood the firings were unlawful or that they would suffer irreparable harm. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., rejected a request for a preliminary injunction filed by the three board members — Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan and Thomas Rothman — who sued the Trump administration after receiving termination notices via email on April 28. In the lawsuit, the CPB board members argued the president lacked the authority to remove them from their position and noted that the corporation, which was created by Congress in 1967, was designed to be protected from political interference. It is the largest single source of funding for public news outlets, including PBS and NPR. '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,' they argued in the lawsuit. Moss was not convinced Trump's move would bring about any immediate, irreparable harm, and he indicated Trump may indeed have the authority to remove them. 'For present purposes and on the present record, it is enough to conclude that Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that they are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim for injunctive relief or that Plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief,' the judge's opinion reads. 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 perceived editorial bias. Trump and his allies have long said public broadcasters are biased against conservatives and that taxpayers should not have to underwrite their operations. Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, said it was pleased by part of the ruling, despite failing to win an injunction. 'We are very pleased that the Court recognized CPB is an independent, nonprofit corporation, free from governmental control or influence,' she said in a statement. 'CPB, board and management, look forward to continuing our work with policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan public media is available for all Americans.' Updated: 7:33 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
