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Where things stand in NPR v. Trump, of which KSUT is a co-plaintiff 

Friday - January 23, 2026 by Staff report | The Southern Ute Drum

NPR v. Trump case: Pictured left to right, Breeze Richardson, Aspen Public Radio Executive Director, Tami Graham, KSUT Executive Director, Steve Zansberg, attorney for the co-plaintiffs, Stewart Vanderwilt, Colorado Public Radio CEO outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. Graham, Vanderwilt, and Richardson lead three Colorado public radio stations suing the Trump administration alongside NPR over an executive order issued in May 2025.
Photo Credit: Tyron Turner/NPR

In May, NPR and three public radio stations sued the Trump Administration, arguing that the President’s executive order violated their First Amendment rights. Three Colorado-based stations are co-plaintiffs in the suit: Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio in Ignacio. 

Trump’s May 1 executive order requires the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to cease direct funding of NPR and PBS. The order also prohibits indirect funding of the networks, stating that public radio and television stations cannot use federal funds to pay for programming from NPR and PBS. 

On Dec. 4, 2025, attorneys for both sides offered arguments to Judge Randolph D. Moss in a federal court in Washington, D.C. 

During the hearing, the plaintiffs argued that President Trump’s executive order is unconstitutional and violates the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. 

US Justice Department lawyers told Judge Moss that the President was acting within his authority, and that the case became moot once Congress clawed back funding for public media in July. 

NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik, who was in the courtroom on December 4, told KSUT that the Judge appeared concerned about the potential harm done to NPR and the co-plaintiffs. 

“The judge made pretty clear that (the executive order) seemed to violate their freedom of expression,” Folkenflik said in a recent interview. 

In this 29-minute segment, KSUT producer Adam Burke talks with Folkenflik about the lawsuit and what unfolded in court on December 4. Folkenflik also explains some of the implications for public media stations. 

KSUT Executive Director, Tami Graham and Attorney Steve Zansberg, the attorney representing the co-plaintiff member stations, tell the story of how three Colorado stations joined NPR’s lawsuit, and the risks they had to consider before doing so. 

 

Disclosure: Under KSUT’s protocol for reporting on itself, no member of KSUT’s executive team reviewed this story before it was posted publicly. 

 

Listen to the audio segment by Adam Burke, Where things stand in NPR v. Trump, of which KSUT is a co-plaintiff:  https://www.ksut.org/2025-12-19/where-things-stand-in-npr-v-trump  

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