CPB, Democratic Board Members Sue Trump Administration Over Disputed Firings
CPB and Democratic board members Laura Ross, Thomas Rothman and Diane Kaplan sued the Trump administration Tuesday, claiming their Monday dismissal was illegal. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in docket 25-01305, they said Trent Morse, the White House deputy director-presidential personnel, emailed them Monday that President Donald Trump “had purportedly terminated their positions on the Board.” Morse’s email, included in the filing, told the three that they were “terminated effective immediately.” White House action against the board members came as Trump geared up to send Congress a spending rescissions package, which officials have said will call for rolling back $1.1 billion in advance CPB funding (see 2504150052).
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The Democratic CPB board members want the district court to declare that Morse’s dismissal email “is of no legal effect given that the President has no power to remove or terminate CPB’s Board members.” Judge Randolph Moss set a Tuesday afternoon hearing on CPB’s motion for a temporary restraining order to block the firings from taking effect.
Congress “expressly provided various protections” in the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act to “ensure that CPB was insulated from partisan interference and control and ensure its autonomy,” including designating it as a “private corporation” rather than a federal agency, CPB and the Democrats said in the lawsuit. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has “explicitly recognized CPB’s independence and non-government-entity status,” as has the U.S. Supreme Court, the lawsuit said.
“As numerous courts have repeatedly affirmed, the Constitution gives President Trump the power to remove personnel who exercise his executive authority,” a White House spokesperson emailed. “The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”