The Trump administration sued to oust the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) board’s three Democratic appointees on Tuesday, escalating the legal battle as Republican lawmakers look to slash the group’s funding.
The three members quickly sued in April after President Trump attempted to fire them, arguing the move interferes with the traditional independence of the CPB, which funds NPR and PBS.
Last month, a judge declined their request for an order preventing the administration from giving any effect to the firings. But the trio has continued to participate in the board’s business.
“In short, Defendants are defiantly acting as if the Court granted the relief the Court denied—raising the question of why they bothered to seek preliminary relief and consume the resources of the Court and the parties if they were simply going to ignore any adverse ruling,” the suit reads.
“The United States cannot just stand by when lawful orders — both executive and judicial — are so openly flouted,” it continues.
The new lawsuit comes ahead of the GOP-led Congress’ Friday deadline to approve roughly $9 billion in cuts put forward by the Trump administration in a rescissions package. The package includes $1.1 billion in cuts to CPB.
The administration wants a federal judge to declare that the three members — Laura Ross, Thomas Rothman and Diane Kaplan — are no longer on the board and all their actions since April are null and void.
The case has not yet been assigned to a judge. The administration suggested the suit is related to the board members’ earlier one, so it should be considered by the same jurist, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, an appointee of former President Obama.
The Hill has reached out to an attorney for the board members for comment.
