The #CPB immediately fired back Friday, with a statement asserting that the president does not have the #power to cut off its #funding — #Congress does.
“Congress directly authorized & funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government,” the CPB said in a statement.
…A representative for the #CPB did not comment on whether it will pursue legal action, but #PBS President Paula Kerger said in a statement that the service is “exploring all options.”
“The president’s blatantly #unlawful #ExecutiveOrder, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American #public with #educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years,” Kerger said.
#NPR Chief Executive Katherine Maher said, “we will challenge this #ExecutiveOrder using all means available.” She called #Trump’s order “an affront to the #FirstAmendment rights of NPR & locally owned & operated stations throughout America to produce & air programming that meets the needs of their communities.”
