U.S. — NPR, KSUT, and other public media stations won their lawsuit against President Trump. The ruling reversed a law signed in July 2025 that eliminated federal funding for the sector.

The legal challenge, identified as Corporation for Public Broadcasting v. Trump, cited the Public Broadcasting Act. Federal agencies can legally send money to public media stations if it is authorized by Congress.

Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR, characterized the outcome as a defense of constitutional rights. “This is a victory for the fundamental rights of a free and independent press, for the American people, and for the entire public media system,” Maher said.

Maher added that the timing held historical weight for the country. “We can all take pride in what we achieved here. There has never been a better year to defend the First Amendment than the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding,” she said.

President Trump signed the law ending federal funding in July 2025. The measure terminated nearly six decades of federal support for public media entities.

The financial structure of the industry shifted dramatically following the withdrawal of aid. Federal funding made up, on average, 8 to 10% of public radio stations' budgets prior to the cut. The share for PBS and public television stations was higher than that range.

NPR received less than 2% of its annual revenue directly from the federal government prior to the funding cut. Despite the lower percentage, the organization reduced the staff that produces news, podcasts, and music by about 4%, mostly through buyouts.

PBS laid off 15% of its workforce. More than 500 public media staffers have been laid off since the funding cut, according to a tally by SemiPublic.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting went out of business. The entity was established in 1967 to channel federal support to local stations.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting canceled the weekly public affairs show In the Moment after federal funding was withdrawn. The station laid off seven of its 11 journalists, including host Lori Walsh and her two-person production staff.

Walsh produces a daily podcast and an extended daily segment on Morning Edition called In the Moment. She described the internal impact of the staffing reductions. “We went through a real grieving period of saying goodbye to beloved staff members and really qualified journalists and professionals,” Walsh said.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting Executive Director Julie Overgaard promised to continue devoting gavel-to-gavel coverage to the state legislature. She also committed to broadcasting all high-school varsity games and performing arts competitions to keep state funding.

The station raised $8 million from donors. South Dakota Public Broadcasting hired Lori Walsh back as a podcaster to produce content for the audience.

KSUT Public Radio is located in the Four Corners region of southwestern Colorado. The station joined NPR and other stations in suing Trump after he targeted public media funds through an executive order in spring 2025.

Tami Graham, Executive Director of KSUT Public Radio, stated that the organization faced uncertainty during the funding freeze. “We really didn't know how we were going to fare. We had pretty major concerns about whether we were going to need to cut staffing, cut back on some of our national programming, et cetera,” Graham said.

Graham said the station communicated openly with its audience to secure financial stability. “We went to our listeners, our membership, and we were very transparent with them about our situation and that we needed their support,” she said.

KSUT raised enough money to buy solar panels, saving $43,000 a year in electricity costs. The station put $100,000 into its first endowment. KSUT also received grants from the Public Media Bridge Fund, a short-term effort financed by a group of philanthropies.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including some Republicans, restored aid to stations that serve tribal audiences through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This action provided a partial avenue for support for specific public media outlets.