The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has changed its bylaws to prevent President Donald Trump from firing members of its board of directors.
The CPB oversees National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). CPB passed a measure this week that “no Director may be removed from the Board by any person or authority, including the President of the United States, without a two-thirds vote of the other Directors confirming such removal.”
Trump has not hidden politically motivated attacks on public American broadcasters and has called for the end of federal funding for NPR and PBS. Trump and GOP conservatives have alleged bias against them by public broadcasters. PBS programs include “Sesame Street,” which teaches children kindness and caring for others, the opposite of Trump’s and MAGA’s policies.
A memo from NPR CEO Katherine Maher earlier this week stated that the organization’s mission is to “serve the entire nation” and listen to a politically “diverse” audience.
The bylaws change comes after CPB sued Trump and his officials in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. after the deputy director of presidential personnel for the executive office of the president sent an email stating that three CPB board members must be terminated.
During a hearing for the lawsuit, the judge advised CPB’s board “protect itself if it wanted to be protected” from the firings by amending its bylaws.
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Rebecca Barnabi
