A federal judge just gave President Donald Trump a win in his case against the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). 

The judge, according to The Hill, rejected a request for a preliminary injunction that had been brought by CPB.

This means that Trump should be able to proceed with the removal of three CPB board members. However, the CPB is now trying to claim that these three individuals will remain on the board, despite Trump's order and despite the judge's ruling.

⚖️ In Corporation for Public Broadcasting v. Trump (challenging CPB termination), Judge Randolph Moss (D.C.) enters order denying motion for preliminary injunction. https://t.co/84ubf51khE

— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) June 9, 2025

Background

Trump terminated the three CPB board members on April 28.

CBS News, at the time, reported:

According to the court documents, the three board members received an email from Trent Morse, the deputy director of White House personnel, that notified the board members that their positions were terminated. The correspondence said in full, "On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.

It was almost immediately that the CPB brought a lawsuit looking to stop Trump.

Their legal team claimed, "under the Act, Congress made it clear that the CPB is a private corporation, over whom the President has no authority save the ability to nominate members of the Board of Directors, with the advice and consent of the Senate."

This is the question that the courts have been tasked with deciding - whether or not Trump, as the U.S. president, does have the authority to fire CPB board members.

The latest

At the outlet of the case, the CPB filed a request for a preliminary injunction, essentially stopping Trump from removing these three individuals while the case is litigated.

The Hill reports, "U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., rejected a request for a preliminary injunction filed by the three board members — Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan, and Thomas Rothman . . ."

However, it is not a complete victory for Trump. Moss wrote:

The president is not free to remove directors and then unilaterally to appoint their replacements, thereby using his power to remove as an effective tool for altering Board policy. Rather, the President's appointment authority is tempered by the requirement that he proceed only with the advice and consent of the Senate.

CPB believes that this is enough to allow it to ignore Trump's termination of these three individuals.

Now, we are waiting to see how the Trump administration will respond.