One month after the introduction of an executive order to slash federal funding for public broadcasting, PBS is taking legal action to challenge US President Donald Trump and his administration.

The pubcaster and its member station in Northern Minnesota filed the lawsuit in a US District Court of Washington DC on May 30. PBS is following in the footsteps of fellow public media outlet NPR, which opened a similar case against the Trump administration just three days ago. 

The PBS complaint states that the Trump administration cannot influence funding decisions of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which allocates this funding as a private entity.

PBS argues that the president’s order is a violation of its First Amendment rights, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.

Trump’s move to cut funding stems from what he perceives as a political bias against conservatives in public media. “PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,” the suit says. “But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the president from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”

PBS receives around 15% of its total annual budget from federal funding, which is especially crucial for keeping its many local affiliates running. Shortly after Trump’s May 1 executive order, the US Department of Education axed the Ready to Learn grant, which was a longtime source of funding support for PBS KIDS shows like Odd Squad (pictured), Peg + Cat and Super Why.