VOL. I · OCT. 17, 2026 ● NO. 07 ● FREE SPEECH & THE FIRST AMENDMENT
The North Star
“Right is of no Sex — Truth is of no Color.”
After Frederick Douglass, 1847
The free-speech desk — the First Amendment, censorship, and the right to be heard, tracked ruling by ruling across the fifty states.
Press Freedom
Court Blocks Trump Order Cutting Funding to NPR and PBS
A federal judge permanently enjoined an executive order stripping federal support from public broadcasters, holding the government cannot wield funding to punish disfavored coverage.
A public radio broadcast microphone in a studio, representing the NPR and PBS newsrooms targeted by the executive order. — AI-generated illustration
On March 31, 2026, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that Executive Order 14290, which sought to end federal funding for NPR and PBS, violated the First Amendment. The court permanently barred the government from enforcing the order.
The May 2025 order directed federal agencies to cut off support to the public broadcasters, which the administration accused of biased reporting. NPR and PBS sued, arguing the move was unconstitutional retaliation for their editorial choices.
Judge Moss agreed that targeting the outlets because of the content of their journalism crossed a constitutional line. The First Amendment forbids the government from using financial leverage to suppress or punish speech it dislikes.
The decision is a significant marker in a wave of press-freedom disputes, testing how far the executive branch can go in conditioning money on favorable coverage. The government is expected to appeal.
14290
Executive order enjoined
Pull quote
— Source
Video caption
How the case moved
MAY 2025
President Trump issues Executive Order 14290 defunding NPR and PBS.
2025
NPR and PBS file First Amendment challenges.
MAR 2026
Judge Moss permanently enjoins the order.
✓ Fact check
Claim
“Because public broadcasters receive federal money, the president can cut their funding for any reason.”
Reality
Even discretionary funding cannot be used to retaliate against a broadcaster for the content of its journalism, the court held.
§
Legal References
Bluebook citation · cases, statutes & the record
Primary legal authority cited in this report. Links go to the public record where one exists.
[1]
NPR v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-01305 ¶ source
D.D.C. 2026
¶
Academic References
ABA / law-review style · secondary scholarship
Secondary scholarship that informs the analysis.
[1]
Reference text
Author bio
Source: NPR
More from The North Star
Kicker
Related headline
NurFüsse · 10TOESDown
The Law & Liberty Desk — three mastheads, one dispatch.
The North Star · The White Rose · Milk — nurfusse.com