National Public Radio reached a settlement on Monday that allows it to continue supporting its network of member stations while it sues to stop an executive order that cut off federal funding for public broadcasting.
Under the new settlement, NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting agreed that the Trump administration's May 2025 executive order forbidding CPB from directly or indirectly funding public broadcasting "is unconstitutional and that CPB will not implement or enforce it unless ordered by a court."
NPR will now receive already-appropriated funds to maintain its public radio distribution network, while a lawsuit directly against the executive order proceeds.
"While we entered into this dispute with CPB reluctantly, we're glad to resolve it in a way that enables us to continue to provide for the stability of the Public Radio Satellite System, offer immediate and direct support to public radio stations across the country, and proceed with our strong and substantive claims against this illegal and unconstitutional Executive Order," said Katherine Maher, President and CEO of NPR. "We look forward to our day in court in December."
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NPR filed suit in May along with three Colorado-based radio stations that claim the cuts in the executive order would violate the stations' First Amendment rights. Additionally, they claimed that the White House was overstepping its authority, given that funding is appropriated by Congress.
The House of Representatives nonetheless voted in June to cut roughly $9.4 billion that was approved by Congress to fund both foreign aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. About 70% of the funds it receives go to approximately 1,500 public television and radio stations in the U.S. The organization receives about $525 million from Congress.
NPR says that about 8% of its members' revenue comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Nearly half comes from individual donors, with corporations, foundations, and other government funds comprising the rest.
