Public Broadcasting Chiefs refuse to combat the Trump order, the funds for PBS, NPR, shorten

The head of PBS said that on Friday President Donald Trump's executive order It was obviously illegal to reduce public subsidies for public broadcasting institutions and NPR. The boss of NPR also vowed to question the decision.

Paula Kerger, CEO of Public Broadcasting Service, said that the republican president's arrangement “our ability to serve the American public with educational programs, as we have done in the past 50 years”.

“We are currently researching all options to continue to operate PBS to our member stations and all Americans,” said Kerger.

Trump signed the order late Thursday and claimed the bias in the broadcasting of the broadcaster.

The order indicates the company for public broadcasting and other federal authorities to hire “federal financing” for PBS and National Public Radio, and continues to work to work out indirect sources for public financing for news organizations. The White House in a Social Media Posting in which the signing was announced said that the outlets were given “millions of taxpayers to spread radically, propaganda disguised as” news “.”

The corporation for public broadcasting, which leads public funds for the two services, said that it is not a federal authority that is subject to Trump's commands. The President said at the beginning of this week that he fired three of the five remaining CPB board members to threaten his ability to threaten to work – and was Squeezed immediately through the CPB to stop it.

The company distributes around half a billion dollars to PBS, NPR and its local stations. When creating CPB, the congress of a federal authority or employees banned from direct control over educational television or radio, said Patricia Harrison, his president and CEO.

The President and CEO of NPR also promised Friday to make the decision. “We will provide our right to provide the American public essential news, information and life-saving services,” said Katherine Maher. “We will challenge these executive order with all available means.”

The vast majority of public funds for the services go directly to the hundreds of local stations that operate a combination of state funds, donations and philanthropic grants. Stations in smaller markets are particularly dependent on public money and are most threatened by the cuts of the kind of Trump.

Public broadcasting was often threatened by Republican leaders in the past, but local ties have largely made it possible for them to escape cuts – legislators do not want to be regarded as responsible for closing stations in their districts. However, the current threat is considered the most serious in the history of the system.

It is also the most recent step of Trump and his administration to use federal powers to control or sink institutions with whose actions or points of view he does not agree.

Since taking office in January for a second term in January, Trump has replaced managers, transferred employees into administrative leave and did hundreds of millions of dollars to artists, libraries, museums, museums, theaters and others by taking over the acquisitions of artists, libraries, museums, theaters The John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts And the national foundation for the humanities. Trump has also pushed back to hold back federal research and education from universities and Punishment law firm Unless you agree to remove diversity programs and other measures that he found to be objectionable.

Two weeks ago, the White House said that the congress would be asked to lift the financing for the CPB as part of a reduction package of 9.1 billion dollars. However, this package Household director Russell Vought Said would probably be the first of several, has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill.

The step against PBS and NPR, since Trump's administration has been working on it, comes to the US agency for global media, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertywhich were designed to model an independent news gathering worldwide in companies that restrict the press.

These efforts have prevailed by federal courts that have decided in some cases that the Trump administration may have exceeded its authority in order to hold back the funds acquired by the congress to the sales outlets.

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The AP Congress Correspondent, Lisa Mascaro, contributed to this report.