Washington DC - National Public Radio (NPR) and three local stations are taking legal action after President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at cutting their federal funding.

The lawsuit – filed Tuesday by NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KUTE, Inc. – accuses the Trump administration of violating the First Amendment in denying constitutionally appropriated funds to NPR and PBS.

"The Order's objectives could not be clearer: the Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country," the complaint reads.

"The Order is textbook retaliation and viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment, and it interferes with NPR’s and the Local Member Stations’ freedom of expressive association and editorial discretion."

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The suit comes in response to Trump's order in early May to cut public funding for NPR and PBS, as the far-right president claimed "neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens."

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget had already been approved by Congress through 2027 at the time of the executive action.

Trump, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are among those named in the new lawsuit.