Are Trump’s EOs a “Bridge Too Far?”

President Donald Trump has issued 147 Executive Orders (EO) as of last week. Most Presidents would have issued much less at this point in their Presidency. An EO is a declaration by the president which has the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers, and requiring no action by the Congress.

In my previous two blogs, I have tried to inform readers of some of the actions Trump had taken in his first 100 days and a cautionary tale about his 'battle' with Harvard University over federal funding.  Today I examine the EOs he has issued and warn that he is going too far to control the actions of what should be independent organizations and the free expression of religion.

Some EOs are clearly useful. For example, Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure. The EO requires agency heads to be held accountable by the President for implementing risk management measures commensurate with the risk and magnitude of the harm that would result from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of IT and data. They will also be held accountable by the president for ensuring that cybersecurity risk management processes are aligned with strategic, operational, and budgetary planning processes.

Other EOs seem to be motivated by political ends. An example is the recent EO issued to stop funding for NPR and PBS. Still others seem difficult to enact, such as the recently announced EO to institute "most favored nation" policy on drug pricing that, allegedly, would reduce prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices "almost immediately by 30% to 80%."

Federal Funding for NPR and PBS

President Trump issued an executive order on May 1, 2025, directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) board of directors to "cease federal funding for NPR and PBS," the nation's primary public broadcasters, claiming ideological bias. "Neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to tax-paying citizens," the order says. "The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding."

It is not clear that the president has the authority to make such orders to CPB under the law. PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger called it a "blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night."

CPB is already suing the Trump administration over his executive order seeking to fire three of its five board members; it dismissed the validity of the president's new order.

According to NPR, "CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President's authority. "Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government." The CPB noted that the statute Congress passed to create it "expressly forbade 'any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors." Congress said that such funds "may be used at the discretion of the recipient" for producing or acquiring programs to put on the air.

Trump’s Motivation in Defunding NPR and PBS

It seems that Trump is motivated by stopping what he calls “biased and partisan news coverage.” That Trump is trying to stifle dissent is not surprising. He tends to go after those who don’t agree with him or say critical things about him. Trump put NPR and PBS in this category rather than promoting free speech and thoughtful reflection in society. The White House said that both organizations had received "tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'

"Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options," the executive order reads. "Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence." Trump said in the order that the CPB failed to follow the principles of fairness and impartiality that underpin its public role. "Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter. What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens," Trump said.

The White House statement also provides an extensive list of what it said were "trash that passes for 'news'" at PBS and NPR. These alleged infringements included reporting on transgender issues and NPR's apology for characterizing people as "illegal."

CPB Response

Paula Kerger, CEO and president of PBS, said in response: "The President’s blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years. We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans."

Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the CPB, issued a statement stressing that the White House did not control the organization. "CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.” She went on: “Congress created the CPB, it forbade any government agency or official from directing, supervising, or controlling it.

To date, NPR and PBS receive roughly half a billion dollars in public money and earn money from sponsorship. NPR says less than 1% of its funding comes from public sources.

Trump and his supporters have long complained that NPR and PBS are biased and promote left-wing causes, an allegation vehemently denied by executives at both organizations. Last month, Trump called for their defunding on Truth Social, calling them "RADICAL LEFT 'MONSTERS' THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!"

Attack on Religious Liberty

President Trump also signed an EO establishing a presidential commission on religious liberty. Critics contend that the motivation is to openly question the separation of church and state. The Constitution’s prohibition of a national religion has long been interpreted as a mandatory separation of church and state.

Trump has established a White House Faith Office in the West Wing, inviting pastors to pray in the Oval Office and during Cabinet meetings, and taking executive actions to root out “anti-Christian bias” in the government.

The commission will be chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Ben Carson, Trump’s term-one Housing and Urban Development secretary, will serve as vice chair. “There’s never been a president who invoked the name of Jesus more than you,” Patrick told the president. The commission’s full membership and mandate were not immediately clear. Trump said it would meet in the White House.

“Prayer is not a religious act, it’s a national necessity,” said Paula White, Trump’s senior adviser who oversees the Faith Office. In a prayer, she asked God to grant Trump “wisdom beyond human understanding and capability, and … divine dreams.”

“We call for a spiritual reset in our nation, a return to what is right, a reverence for what is sacred, a real alignment with your divine purpose,” she said. “We’re bringing religion back to our country, and it’s a big deal,” the President said, in announcing the EO.

Conclusions

Doing what is right is critical to the ethical actions we all take. However, no religion has a monopoly on how that can and should be done. Moreover, you can’t foster a return to religion through EOs. It comes from one’s heart, teachings as youngsters, influence of parents, educational experiences and having ethical leaders to look up to. Trump needs to check himself in these areas given his constant battles in the court. Should he be the ‘poster child’ for religiosity?

This is scary stuff. If Trump is allowed to end federal funding of any organization that he disagrees with, whether they receive federal funds or not, we will have morphed into a society where the leader can choose which organizations to support and which should be shut down. Even more concerning is the apparent promotion of religious bias in the White House.

The actions discussed in this blog should raise the proverbial ‘red flag’ for all Americans. We don’t want to be told which newscast to listen to or which opinions we should embrace. We certainly don’t want one religion to be promoted more so than others by the President. This is not consistent with a democratic form of government. It is governing by fiat!

Posted by Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on May 12, 2025. You can sign up for his newsletter and learn more about his activities at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/.