In his executive order on NPR and PBS, Trump leapfrogs Congress to target a private organization
As president, Donald Trump has the authority to issue executive orders managing the executive branch of the federal government. Late Thursday, however, he attempted to exert this authority over a private organization.
Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board of directors (which is not an agency) to halt funding for NPR and PBS. He also instructed the board of CPB, which provides grants to more than 1,500 local radio and television stations, to take steps to ensure its grantees do not use the money they receive to license content from or otherwise “fund” NPR or PBS.
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Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.
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