Judge says Trump can't defund NPR and PBS

Obama appointed Federal judge permanently blocks Trump executive order defunding NPR and PBS

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday permanently blocked President Donald Trump's executive order directing all federal agencies to cut off funding to NPR and PBS, ruling the action unconstitutional and calling it one of the clearest cases of government viewpoint discrimination he had seen.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama appointee, found the executive order "unlawful and unenforceable" under the First Amendment. The ruling goes beyond the now-defunct Corporation for Public Broadcasting, barring federal agencies across the board from denying funding to the two media entities based on the president's directive.

The White House wasted no time pushing back. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson called it "a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law," Fox News Digital reported.

Here is the core tension: taxpayers have a legitimate interest in deciding where their money goes, and the president has a legitimate interest in executing the spending priorities Congress sets.

But the judiciary keeps stepping in to tell this administration what it cannot do, and in this case, the judge's reasoning raises real questions about whether federal courts are effectively granting media organizations a permanent entitlement to public dollars.

What the judge said, and what he missed

The White House asserted that Congress had already voted to defund NPR and PBS. The administration has signaled it expects to appeal.

Judge Moss has ruled against Trump several times.